Pakistan rejects Indian defence minister's warning, says any aggression will meet forceful response

Mixed · 2Pakistan's Foreign Office on Friday 16 October 2026 rejected and condemned remarks by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, calling them provocative. 1 2 Mixed · 2Singh had said on Thursday 15 October, at a defence conclave in Delhi, that any future terrorist act originating from Pakistan would draw an even "stronger response", pointing to a shift in India's approach shown by Operation Sindoor, the Balakot airstrikes and surgical strikes. 2 1 Centre · 1At the weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan called the statements "reckless" and said they reflected India's "hegemonistic mindset" and the risk it poses to regional peace and stability in South Asia. He said they amounted to a threat of Indian aggression and urged New Delhi to abandon dangerous rhetoric. 1

Mixed · 2Khan said Pakistan remained fully prepared to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any "ill-advised aggression", and that its restraint and commitment to peace should not be mistaken for weakness. He warned that any aggression would be met with a forceful response. 1 2 Centre · 1Geo News also reports that Khan reminded India of the consequences of its military action in May last year and urged it to draw lessons from that experience. It describes the May 2025 fighting, which followed the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 tourists, as an unprovoked Indian attack, and says Pakistan downed eight Indian jets, including three Rafales. These are Pakistan's claims as Geo presents them, and the article gives no Indian account. The war ended on May 10 with a US-brokered ceasefire, Geo says. 1 Left · 1According to The Hindu, which ran PTI copy, Khan also called India's 5 August 2019 revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status "illegal and void". He said Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar had urged Afghan authorities to take "concrete, verifiable and irreversible action" against groups operating from Afghan soil, and he condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities. 2

Centre · 1In the same briefing, Geo reports, the spokesperson announced that the Foreign Office is digitising apostille services and said an inquiry into alleged irregularities in attestation services is underway. 1