 "Pakistan will retaliate, says Shehbaz Sharif in address to nation")
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday vowed to strike back after India’s attack on nine terror hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, declaring that New Delhi would “pay” for its actions.
In address to the nation, Sharif claimed to have shot down 5 fighter jets, which, he said, are “now ash”.
“We resolve that we will avenge the blood of our innocent martyrs,” Aljazeera quoed Sharif as saying.
“Last night, we showed that Pakistan can deliver a jaw-breaking response for its defence. At the Line of Control, the dogfight raged for about an hour. Pakistani pilots remained in their airspace, the enemy’s planes were shattered to pieces,” he claimed, adding, “In conventional warfare last night, we proved that Pakistan prevailed.”
Sharif also emphasised Pakistan’s position on Kashmir.
“As per international law, Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory and will remain until a plebiscite is done,” Sharif was quoted as saying.
“Regardless of how many unilateral decisions India takes, it cannot change the reality,” he added.
Earlier, talking to CNN, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif called the Indian assault an “invitation to expand the conflict”
Asif said his country is “trying to avoid” an all-out war with India but must be prepared for one.
“We cannot be caught with our guards down,” CNN quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the spokesperson for Pakistan’s armed forces, said the Indian assault has killed 31 civilians and injured dozens others.
“Any condemnation of India’s strikes is not enough,” Chaudhry was quoted as saying by the newspaper Dawn.
According to a CNN report, earlier while addressing the Parliament, Sharif lauded his country’s air force following a claim by military sources that it shot down five Indian fighter jets.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsSharif praised the Pakistani military’s readiness “to deal with the enemy’s planes”.
Sharif also informed lawmakers that India deployed dozens of warplanes in its attack, which resulted in at least 26 deaths, including that of a 3-year-old girl, and left at least 46 others wounded, reported CNN, citing a Pakistani military official.
Sharif did not specify how Pakistan would respond to India’s assault, which he had earlier labeled an “act of war.” His office, however, said that Pakistan’s military had been “authorised to undertake corresponding actions in this regard.”
“A few days ago, India was proudly showing off its purchase of Rafale jets. But one shouldn’t be too proud,” Sharif told lawmakers.
“These jets flew from there in combat form, but our air force was also prepared,” he added.
Early on Wednesday, Indian armed forces destroyed nine terrorist hideouts including that of Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in a 25-minute-long “measured and “non-escalatory” missile and drone strike to avenge dastardly terror attack in Pahalgam.
Under ‘Operation Sindoor’, the Indian military targeted Markaz Taiba of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Muridke, Markaz Subhan Allah of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Bahawalpur and Hizbul Mujahideen’s Mehmoona Joya Facility in Sialkot and LeT’s base in Markaz Ahle Hadith in Barnala and its camp in Muzaffarabad’s Shawai Nalla.
With inputs from agencies
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