Former Pakistan Security Adviser Warns of "Dangerous" Situation as Nuclear Powers Exchange Fire

Former Pakistan National Security Adviser Moeed Yousuf has warned that India and Pakistan have entered a "very dangerous place" following military exchanges between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

Speaking exclusively to ABC News Australia from Islamabad, Yousuf detailed Pakistan's military response to what he described as unprovoked Indian missile strikes.

Key Developments:

The crisis stems from a terror attack in the disputed Kashmir region two weeks ago, with Yousuf claiming India immediately blamed Pakistan "without a shed of evidence." Despite international calls for India to provide proof of Pakistani involvement, Yousuf stated no evidence has been presented before India launched missile strikes "across the international border, including Pakistan's heartland."

"Nobody is justified to attack anything in a nuclear environment because you hold in this region two billion people, a billion and a half of those Indians hostage. So, you know, adults talk, adults want to resolve issues," Yousuf told ABC News Australia.

The former security chief expressed particular concern about India's suspension of the World Bank-brokered Indus Water Treaty, which he characterized as "a crime against humanity" that could "starve 250 million people of water."

Yousuf attributed the rising tensions partly to religious nationalism, claiming India's governing BJP promotes a "supremacist Hindutva ideology" that refuses dialogue with neighboring Muslim-majority nations. "Not only Pakistan, but Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, everybody's worried with this kind of behavior, because nobody wants a hegemon in the region trying to dictate things," he stated.

Calling for international intervention, Yousuf noted that both nations lack bilateral escalation control mechanisms: "During the crisis, the entire world descends on India and Pakistan and says, cool it, guys, don't do this, very dangerous. After the crisis, there isn't that diplomacy that's needed to push India and Pakistan to sit down and come to settlement of their disputes."

Indian officials claim Pakistani shelling has killed at least three civilians in Indian-controlled Kashmir. International diplomatic efforts to defuse the situation are reportedly underway as global concerns mount over the risk of further escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

Is this latest crisis a turning point in India-Pakistan relations?

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