The National Assembly on Thursday hailed the armed forces as the invincible guardians of the nation, commending their superior strategy and swift takedown of several Indian warplanes, including the much-touted Rafale fighter jet, and a fleet of Israeli-made drones.
Lawmakers from both treasury and opposition benches rallied around the military's show of force, declaring that it wasn't just India's Rafale, but its pride that had plummeted. They warned that New Delhi had made a grave miscalculation in mistaking Pakistan's overtures for peace as a sign of weakness.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar informed the house that Pakistan's forces, displaying exceptional tactical acumen, had shot down 25 drones across various parts of the country. He further disclosed that 50 Indian soldiers had been killed in clashes along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.
As the lower house continued its fourth consecutive day of deliberation on India's unprovoked aggression, Tarar made it clear that Pakistan's response would come, unflinching and firm, at a time and place of its choosing.
"Our forces have been given full authority. Now we will decide the time and place," he asserted.
Briefing lawmakers on the Indian airstrikes carried out in the early hours of Wednesday, the minister said that India had taken great pride in its Rafale aircraft, but Pakistan's armed forces brought that pride crashing down. "It is not the aircraft, but India's pride that has fallen," he said.
"When Rafale aircraft were sent, our air force responded with such precision that the enemy was left humiliated. Now, cowardly India is resorting to unmanned drones. Today, 25 such drones were intercepted, some jammed through electronic warfare, others brought down by our air defence," he added.
He also told the house that 40 to 50 Indian soldiers had been eliminated on the LoC and a brigade headquarters had been razed. Drawing a pointed comparison to the 2019 capture of Indian pilot Abhinandan, Tarar mocked India with a jab: "The home delivery of 'fantastic tea' has been made."
Aamir Dogar, the chief whip of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he called "the butcher of Gujarat", had displayed cowardice by launching attacks in the dead of night.
Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) echoed the information minister's sentiment. "India's pride is reduced to dust along with its Rafale aircraft," he said. "India has consistently targeted civilians, while Pakistani forces struck only military targets."
Shazia Marri of the PPP said that India had taken Pakistan's silence for weakness, which turned out to be a costly misjudgment. "The prime minister has clearly stated that we had no involvement in the Pahalgam incident. Pakistan even offered an international investigation, but India fled from it," she added.
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