Pakistan army chief Asim Munir warns India of war if provoked again

Pakistan Army chief Gen. Asim Munir on Thursday warned that any "military misadventure" by India will be met with a "swift, resolute, and notch-up response" as he visited a firing range to witness a high-intensity field training exercise conducted by the armed forces.

His remark comes amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack and Islamabad’s apprehension of retaliatory action by New Delhi.

"Let there be no ambiguity: any military misadventure by India will be met with a swift, resolute, and notch-up response,” the army chief was quoted as saying by the state-run news agency Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).

"While Pakistan remains committed to regional peace, our preparedness and resolve to safeguard national interests is absolute,” he said while addressing troops at the Tilla Field Firing Ranges (TFFR).

Gen. Munir visited the TFFR to witness Exercise Hammer Strike - a high-intensity, field training exercise conducted by Pakistan Army's Mangla Strike Corps, the news agency reported, citing a press release issued by the army's media wing.

The exercise was designed to validate combat readiness, battlefield synergy, and the operational integration of cutting-edge weapon systems under near-battlefield conditions, it said.

A diverse array of advanced capabilities, including multirole fighter aircraft, combat aviation assets, long-range precision artillery, and next-generation field engineering techniques, were employed to simulate conventional battlefield scenarios, it added.

Pakistan warned on Wednesday that the next 36 hours would be critical due to the threat of Indian action.

However, the US secretary of state called leaders of both countries and urged them to cooperate to defuse the tension while following restraint.