News Desk
KARACHI: The Pakistan military has brought down two enemy’s jets in retaliation for late-night strikes by India, launched after midnight at the sites of Kotli, Bahawalpur, Muridke, Bagh and Muzaffarabad, state media reported.
It was confirmed by the federal information minister, Attaullah Tarar, who said the response was ongoing but did not share operational details. “We shot down two Indian planes and we are responding to Indian aggression right now, as we speak,” he told the British broadcaster Sky News.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said in an interview on CNN: “I can confirm that two aircraft of the Indian Air Force have been taken down. The locations I have so far are around Bhatinda in India [Punjab] and Akhnoor [in occupied Kashmir].”
Earlier, he said three Pakistanis had been killed and 12 injured in what he called “cowardly” missile strikes by India in Kotli, Bahawalpur, Muridke, Bagh and Muzaffarabad, carried out after midnight, for which military retaliation was already under way. The strikes come as tensions have been escalating intensely between the two countries following a militant attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
Appearing on Sky News around 2.45am, Tarar reiterated that Pakistan’s response was ongoing, while declining to share operational specifics. Asked about the potential for escalation, he said it “is an evolving situation.” He repeated that Pakistan had anticipated an attack by India and insisted that “they would be the aggressor”.
“We offered an investigation into the whole Pahalgam episode. We wanted a fair and transparent investigation. But India, without evidence, has targeted civilians, women and children. India had no right to do that,” he said. “As the minister for information, I have occupied a seat of responsibility,” Tarar added. “I have taken an oath and I will give you verified information.”
When asked why India blamed Pakistan for the Pahalgam attack, Tarar said: “This area (Pahalgam) is a good 200 kilometers from the Line of Control. The FIR was filed in 10 minutes, but police arrived after one and a half hours.” He accused India of “running away” from an investigation into the attack and claimed the country’s governing party “wanted a reason to attack Pakistan.”
“We have high morale and we will respond to Indian aggression,” he said. “India has no evidence whatsoever to link Pakistan to this incident,” he stressed. “India has attacked civilians without any justifiable cause and because we have the right to self-defence, we will defend our country, we will respond.”
