Pakistan says Indian air force targeted civilians in missile attacks
Jordan Daily – Pakistan on Wednesday accused India of launching unprovoked airstrikes targeting civilian areas across the international border, Working Boundary and the Line of Control (LoC), in what Islamabad described as a “blatant act of war” that has left at least 26 people dead.
According to Pakistan’s military, the Indian Air Force used standoff weapons while remaining in Indian airspace to carry out missile attacks on six locations inside Pakistan, striking what authorities say were “civilian populations,” including mosques.
“India’s act of aggression has resulted in martyrdom of civilians, including women and children,” the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), the spokesperson for Pakistan’s armed forces, said in a statement. “At least 26 Pakistanis were martyred and 46 injured.”
The statement added that some of the targeted areas had been visited by both local and international media in the days prior to the strikes to verify claims of terrorist training camps. “It was evident that there were no such camps but only civilian populations,” the spokesperson said.
In what it described as a retaliatory action, Pakistan’s air force said it had downed five Indian aircraft—three Rafale jets, one MiG-21, one SU-30—and a Heron combat drone. It also claimed to have destroyed an Indian brigade headquarters and a border check-post. “At no time, any of the Indian aircraft were allowed to enter into Pakistan’s airspace and also none of Pakistan’s aircraft went into Indian airspace,” the statement said.
Pakistan condemned the strikes as “a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, international law, and established norms of inter-state relations,” accusing New Delhi of using the recent attack in Pahalgam as a pretext to escalate tensions. “The Indian leadership has once again used the bogey of terrorism to advance its sham narrative of victimhood, jeopardizing regional peace and security,” the statement said.
Islamabad said India had rejected an offer by Pakistan’s Prime Minister to conduct an impartial investigation into the Pahalgam incident. “India’s reckless action has brought the two nuclear-armed states closer to a major conflict,” the military spokesperson warned.
Pakistan said it “reserves the right to respond appropriately at a time and place of its choosing,” invoking Article 51 of the UN Charter, which pertains to the right of self-defence.
