Pakistan shot down two Indian Air Force (IAF) jets early Wednesday in retaliatory strikes following Indian missile attacks on cities in Punjab and Azad Kashmir, which martyred at least 3 Pakistanis and injured 12 others.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Indian aircraft fired missiles into Pakistani territory.
Soon after, Pakistan launched retaliatory strikes.
“Pakistani armed forces giving a befitting response to Indian aggression,” the ISPR chief said.
Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Army are giving a “strong and decisive response” to India’s cowardly attack, security sources said on Tuesday night.
Sources told Geo News that the blood of innocent Pakistanis would be avenged at all costs, emphasising that so far only civilians and unarmed citizens have been targeted.
Images from the scene clearly show that only innocent and defenseless Pakistanis were targeted, the sources added.
They reiterated that the sacrifice of every innocent Pakistani will be avenged.
Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry earlier stated that India had attacked Pakistan with missiles in three places — Bahwalpur, Muzaffarabad and Kotli.
Slamming the India attack, the military spokesperson said: “All of our air force jets are airborne. This is a shameful and cowardly attack that was carried from within India’s airspace.”
“They were never allowed to intrude Pakistan’s airspace”.
“Let me say it unequivocally, Pakistan will respond to this [attack] at a time and place of its choosing,” warned the DG ISPR. “This provocation will not go unanswered.”
Lt Gen Chaudhry said damage assessments are currently underway and further details will be shared in due course.
Just after midnight, loud explosions were reported in the mountainous region near Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, according to Reuters witnesses. The blasts triggered a citywide power outage, plunging the area into darkness.
“There is temporary happiness that India has achieved with this cowardly attack, which will be replaced with enduring grief,” said the military spokesperson signaling a strong response from Pakistan to the attack.
The development comes amid heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours in the aftermath of an attack on tourists that left 26 dead in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam.
India had blamed Pakistan for the attack without offering any evidence.
Pakistan denied that it had anything to do with the killings and offered to participate in independent and credible probe.
