Islamabad: Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif has said that if forced into war by India, Islamabad will respond in a befitting manner, adding that ‘our arms are not meant for decoration’.

‘If need be, we will use them against India,’ he said.

While speaking at an event in Islamabad on Monday, the defence minister severely criticised a recent series of hostile statements from Indian politicians, Dawn online reported.

‘By issuing provocative statements, Indian politicians want to distract Pakistan’s attention from the war on terror,’ he said, adding that India had been ‘promoting terrorism in Pakistan.’

The defence minister said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had placed the recent ‘threatening statements’ from India before UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a recent meeting between the two in Tajikistan.

The Senate last week passed a unanimous resolution strongly condemning recent provocative statements made by the top Indian leadership, including the threat of attacks on Pakistani territory.

The resolution had said that Pakistan would never allow its territory to be violated by India under any pretext and Pakistan’s armed forces are capable of issuing a befitting response to any such incursion.