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Published : 18 May 2026, 12:35 AM
Pakistan’s military has issued a sharp rebuke to Indian Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi over his recent warning that Pakistan must decide whether it wanted to remain “part of geography or history”.
In a strongly worded statement on Sunday, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the remarks reflected a “provocative”, “jingoistic” and “dangerously myopic mindset” that risked pushing South Asia towards another devastating conflict.
The reaction came a day after General Dwivedi, speaking at a discussion event at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi, warned Pakistan to stop sheltering militants and supporting activities against India.
“If Pakistan continues to provide sanctuary to terrorists and carry out hostile activities against India, it will have to decide whether it wants to remain on the world map or become history,” the Indian army chief had said while responding to a question on how India would react if circumstances similar to last year’s Operation Sindoor emerged again.
ISPR said Pakistan was “already a country of consequence at the global level, a declared nuclear power and an indelible part of South Asia’s geography and history”.
“The Indian leadership has neither been able to reconcile with the very idea of Pakistan nor learnt the right lessons, even after the passage of eight decades,” the statement said.
Pakistan’s military also warned that threatening a sovereign nuclear state with “elimination from geography” was “not strategic signalling or brinkmanship” but rather “madness and warmongering”.
“Such geographic obliteration would certainly be mutual and comprehensive,” ISPR said, cautioning that any future conflict would not remain confined within borders and could devastate the wider region.
The military’s media wing said responsible nuclear powers should demonstrate “restraint, maturity and strategic sobriety” instead of speaking “the language of civilisational supremacy or national erasure”.
ISPR also accused India of fuelling instability in the region through “state-sponsored terrorism, transnational assassinations and global disinformation campaigns”.
According to the statement, New Delhi’s aggressive posture stemmed “more from frustration at its inability to harm Pakistan”.
The Pakistani military also referred to “Marka-e-Haq”, the 2025 conflict with India that began after the Apr 22 Pahalgam attack and ended with a ceasefire on May 10 following Operation Bunyanum Marsoos.
Warning against another escalation, ISPR said Indian leaders “would be well advised not to push South Asia towards another crisis or war whose consequences would only be devastating for the complete region and beyond”.
“India needs to reconcile with Pakistan’s salience and learn to co-exist with it peacefully,” the statement added.
Pakistan also warned that any attempt to target the country could trigger consequences “neither geographically confined nor strategically or politically palatable for India”.
