Pakistan Reserves Right to Respond to Indian Aggression: DPM
Islamabad: Pakistan says it reserves the right to respond to India at a time, place, and manner of its choosing, in view of the grave and unlawful Indian aggression of violating Pakistani airspace. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar while addressing a joint news briefing alongside Director General ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry in Islamabad on Thursday.
According to Radio Pakistan, the Deputy Prime Minister said despite repeated provocations, Pakistan being a responsible state has so far exercised strategic restraint, acted with maturity, and limited its response strictly to self-defense, in accordance with international law and the UN Charter. Ishaq Dar stated that India launched a highly provocative and dangerously escalated attack, firing four projectiles targeting Pakistani territory.
He provided details that three projectiles were immediately dropped at Amritsar while the fourth that entered Pakistani airspace was neutralized by Pakistan's Air Defense System, with its debris falling in Dinga town inside Pakistan. He emphasized the long-standing cultural ties between Pakistan and the Sikhs of Indian Punjab and rejected any action that might endanger civilians in Indian Punjab. He suggested that the Indian act appears to be designed to incite anti-Pakistan sentiments among the Punjabi Sikh population by falsely implicating Pakistan for targeting Indian civilians.
Ishaq Dar expressed sympathy for the Indian Sikh population, whose lives were endangered by India's use of projectiles for political ends. He stated that Pakistan is committed to safeguarding innocent lives and regional harmony, unlike India's divisive policies.
Providing further details on the Indian drone strikes, Ishaq Dar reported that several armed Indian drones violated Pakistani airspace, targeting civilians and military installations. One civilian was martyred, and four armed personnel sustained injuries. He revealed that one drone struck the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, targeting both domestic and foreign cricket players, but assured that all drones were successfully neutralized.
Briefing the media on this latest act of Indian aggression, ISPR Director General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed that Pakistan has neutralized 29 drones so far. He condemned India's actions, particularly the targeting of religious sites, and assured that Pakistan would respond at a time and place of its choosing. He stated that the armed forces of Pakistan are on the highest level of alert and displayed the debris of neutralized Indian drones to the media.