India-Pak Tensions: ISI briefs Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif on India ‘threat.’ Here’s what we know
India-Pak Tensions: The services chiefs of Pakistan — Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf and Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar — were part of the visiting team, as seen in the group photo released on the occasion.
India-Pak Tensions: Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif visited the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters in Islamabad on 6 April, Tuesday.
Sharif was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, news agency PTI reported, quoting state-run Radio Pakistan.
The services chiefs — Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf and Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar — were part of the visiting team, according to a group photo released on the occasion.
The picture also showed ISI Director General Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik — who was recently appointed as the country’s national security adviser — and the military’s media spokesperson, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry.
The high-level visit comes nearly a week after Pakistan said it expected a military action by India in the wake of a deadly attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. India has implied ‘cross-border linkages’ of the attackers. Pakistan has rejected the claim.
The visit entailed a detailed briefing on the prevailing security environment, with a particular focus on preparedness for conventional ‘threat’ from India in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. "The leadership was apprised of regional security developments and the evolving threat matrix, including conventional military options, hybrid warfare tactics, and terrorist proxies, a press statement from the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.
The prime minister and accompanying officials underscored the imperative of heightened national vigilance, seamless inter-agency coordination, and reinforced operational readiness to deter and decisively respond to any violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the statement said.
Prime Minister Sharif lauded ISI's critical role in safeguarding national interests and enabling informed national security decision-making under complex and dynamic conditions.
Sharif was quoted as saying that entire nation was behind Pakistan's Armed Forces. The leadership reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to defend the homeland against all threats, the statement said.
What happened in Pahalgam?
The Pahalgam terrorist attack was carried out in the fabled Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam on April 22, a day when United States Vice President JD Vance was in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a state visit to Saudi Arabia.
India, blaming Pakistan, responded by deciding to shut the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari in Amritsar along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab immediately. India also decided to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, among other measures.
The decisions to downgrade diplomatic ties with Pakistan in view of cross-border links to the Pahalgam terrorist attack were taken in the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 23.
(With PTI inputs)
- Pakistan is ramping up security measures in response to the Pahalgam attack.
- The visit to ISI underscores the seriousness of perceived threats from India.
- Diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan are further strained following the attack.
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