New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out an “unprovoked and blatant act of war” on Wednesday early hours, the Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, accusing New Delhi of launching cross-border strikes using standoff weapons against civilian areas.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused India of launching “a cowardly attack on five locations within Pakistan”. This heinous act of aggression will not go unpunished, he posted on ‘X’.
The enemy, he said, will never be allowed to achieve its malicious aims.
The official statement issued by the Pakistan foreign ministry confirmed Indian armed forces took out targeted attacks in Muridke and Bahawalpur near the international border, as well as Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
India’s “act of aggression” has led to civilian deaths, it said.
Earlier, the Indian Ministry of Defence announced that the armed forces launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan’s Punjab province in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives.
In its statement, the defence ministry asserted that no Pakistani military installations were targeted during the operation, underlining that the strikes were aimed specifically at militant camps and infrastructure linked to terrorism.
The Pakistan Foreign Office, meanwhile, warned that India’s “reckless behaviour” had brought the two nuclear-armed neighbours dangerously close to a wider conflict. Pakistan, it said. reserved the right to respond at “a time and place of its choosing,” as per Article 51 of the UN Charter, which affirms a nation’s right to self-defense.
Terming the strikes “cowardly” and “a flagrant violation” of the UN Charter and international law, Pakistan claimed the Indian action posed a serious threat not only to regional peace but also to international commercial air traffic.
“In the wake of the Pahalgam attack, the Indian leadership is once again using the bogey of terrorism to promote a false narrative of victimhood,” the statement read. “The government, armed forces, and people of Pakistan stand united in the face of Indian aggression and will act with iron resolve to defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The statement, however, did not confirm whether Pakistan had issued a formal complaint to the United Nations or other international bodies.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Operation Sindoor: Explosions, blackouts, emergency announcements in Pakistan after India strikes
Wow, a very brave coward, who for such a long period was acting like a fox and now calling foul whenhe has to face the music. After resisting provocation for a very long time India has finally decided to act and that is making him shit in his pants!!