Pakistan eyed 12 Indian cities for retaliatory strike; US stopped India, claims Pak media

Islamabad, March 5: Ever since the terror attack in Pulwama happened and the Indian and Pakistani air forces engaged in skirmishes in the last week of February, the nationalistic emotions are charged up in both neighbouring countries.

Pakistan's The News International daily has now come up with a report saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi was pulled back by the United States and Britain from attacking Pakistan once Islamabad told them that it would hit three-times harder at its neighbour if New Delhi violated its territorial integrity.

It said the US then had informed India that the international fraternity would not be able to prevent the confrontation from escalating into a full-blown nuclear war if it went ahead with the attack.

"Well-placed sources based in Washington and London have shared information with The News that Indian Prime Minister Modi conducted a meeting with his three services chiefs for hours on February 27 in the wake of the suicide attack in Pulwama on February 14 killing at least 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel. Modi and his generals reportedly "selected to hit at least nine targets inside Pakistan" with missiles and then "finalised" at least two cities as first targets. Government sources in Pakistan say the initial targets were most probably Karachi and Bahawalpur," The News International report said.

The report further added that Pakistan's elite intelligence agencies learned about the details in time and informed the government officials following which its prime minister, Imran Khan chaired a meeting of the National Command Authority on February 27.

The body controls the government's policy on nuclear weapons and includes besides other top members, the PM and three service chiefs.

The report cited sources saying Pakistan selected 12 Indian cities that were to be hit in retaliation to the Indian aggression and it decided to hit India three-times harder which means in reply to one Indian missile targeting Pakistan, the latter would fire three.