News Desk
NEW YORK: Senator Sherry Rehman has warned that the recent 87-hour military standoff between Pakistan and India was not the full picture, but merely a “trailer” of what could become a global catastrophe if tensions are allowed to escalate. Speaking at a press conference in Washington, as part of a Pakistani delegation, Rehman accused India of violating the laws of war by targeting civilian areas during the brief but dangerous flare-up.
“The world saw only a glimpse of Pakistan’s coordinated response,” she said, warning that any further provocation could trigger a crisis far greater in scale. She argued that India’s approach to the conflict fits a wider pattern of stoking regional instability, turning serious diplomatic issues into what she called a “Bollywood-style drama of tension”.
Rehman reserved strong criticism for the Indian media, accusing it of drowning out voices for peace and instead fueling aggression. She cited inflammatory claims aired on major Indian news channels — including bizarre boasts of occupying Lahore, seizing Karachi’s port, and wiping Pakistan off the map — as reckless rhetoric that undermines any hope for peace.
“Such provocative talk doesn’t just poison public opinion,” she said, “it wrecks informal diplomacy and locks leaders into dangerous promises they cannot fulfil.”
She pointed out that Pakistan’s military response had been carefully limited and in full accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which affirms a nation’s right to self-defence. “We targeted only legal, military objectives,” Rehman explained. “India must also be held to international legal standards.”
