Former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar (Express Photo By Anil Sharma/File)FORMER LAW Minister and Congress leader Ashwani Kumar said on Tuesday that India’s “preemptive” air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist camp in Pakistan’s Balakot cannot be treated as an act of aggression and any provocative military action by Islamabad will legitimise the use of India’s might in repelling Pakistani aggression.
He praised the use of “hard power” by India in defence of the nation’s security and said the operation is a befitting response to the martyrdom of soldiers who lost their lives in Pulwama terrorist attack, which was encouraged and sponsored from Pakistani soil.
Watch: India confirms air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammad camp in Pakistan
“While achieving our national objectives care has been taken to ensure that the use of force is proportionate and deployed only against terrorist camps operating from Pakistan,” he said.
“India has given a befitting response to the martyrdom of our soldiers who lost their lives in the terrorist strike in Pulwama encouraged and sponsored from the Pakistani soil. The hard power of the nation has been deployed in defence of the nation’s security and inviolability of its territorial integrity,” he said.
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He said “as per established international practice and rules of public international law, India’s pre-emptive air strikes cannot be treated as an act of aggression and therefore any misadventure and provocative military action by Pakistan will legitimize the use of the nation’s might in repelling Pakistan’s aggression”.
“Punjab and Kashmir who have traditionally borne the brunt of Pakistan’s aggression against India will once again rise to checkmate Pakistani aggression if any,” he added.
