Pakistan rejects 'pure fiction' of missile strikes in India

Pakistan on Thursday strongly rebutted India's allegations of firing missiles at 15 locations across the border as "false, baseless, and politically-motivated", as the flare-up between the two nuclear-armed neighbours threatened to spiral out of control.

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told a joint news conference that the accusations were part of a broader campaign by New Delhi to divert attention from its internal challenges and military shortcomings.

Dar accused India of targeting its own citizens, particularly Sikhs, to craft a diversionary narrative following its repeated military failures — a reference to the downing of five Indian fighter jets, including three France-made Rafale, by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) after India's missile strikes on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Lt Gen Chaudhry, the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), stated that India had, in fact, launched four missiles that struck its own installations in Amritsar. "Their narrative of striking 15 Pakistani targets is pure fiction," he said.

He called on Indian officials to refrain from spreading misinformation in an era, where facts could easily be verified. Dar also challenged India to present credible evidence to support its allegations. "India's claim that Pakistan attacked Amritsar is entirely fabricated," Dar said. "When Pakistan chooses to respond, the world will see it - and hear it," the military spokesperson added.

Dar said that India deliberately targeted Amritsar, the capital of Indian Punjab, with projectiles in a calculated move to incite anti-Pakistan sentiments within the Sikh community.

He said that India fired four projectiles, most probably missiles, targeting Pakistani territory in the early hours of Thursday. "In a deeply sinister act, three projectiles were deliberately dropped at Amritsar, while the fourth one entered Pakistan's airspace, but was neutralised by Pakistan air defence," he said.

"Its debris fell in Denga, which is inside Pakistan," Dar added. "This malicious act of Hindutva regime of falsely implicating Pakistan in targeting Indian civilians, aimed at inciting anti-Pakistani sentiments among the Punjabi Sikh population to externalise the rising communal tensions within India."

The deputy prime minister stated that Pakistan categorically denied "any intention or action that endangered civilian populations" in Indian Punjab. "Unlike the divisive policies of Indian leadership, Pakistan remained firmly committed to safeguarding innocent lives and regional harmony," he added.

The military spokesperson revealed that Pakistan had intercepted and neutralised 29 hostile drones sent by India. He added that only one incident resulted in injuries to four soldiers and minor damage to military assets. Three Pakistani civilians were martyred in Indian drone attacks, he said.

Dar pointed out that several armed Indian drones violated Pakistan's airspace by crossing over the international border at multiple locations, targeting civilians, and attempted to attack a military installation, injuring four Army personnel.

The foreign minister added that one of the Israeli-manufactured drone was shot down over the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, which was sent by India in an apparent attempt to intimidate international players and disrupt normalcy in Pakistan.

"One of these drones also struck the Rawalpindi cricket stadium, a venue for the ongoing HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) in deliberate attempt to target domestic and foreign cricket players," he added. However, he informed that these drones had been neutralised.

Dar told the press conference that despite repeated provocations, Pakistan, being a responsible state, had so far exercised strategic restraint, acted with maturity and limited its response strictly to self-defence in accordance with International law and the UN Charter.

"Nonetheless in view of this grave and unlawful aggression and firing projectiles most probably missiles inside the Pakistani territory and violating our airspace, Pakistan reserves the right to respond to India at a time place and manner of its choosing," he added.

Calling upon the general public to remain calm in the wake of Indian aggression, Dar said that the country's armed forces were fully alert and vigilant to thwart any aggression from India. He said India was resorting to such "shameful" acts out of embarrassment following the downing of its five.

Separately, security sources rejected Indian reports of a Pakistani attack on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) by Pakistani forces. "By disseminating these fabricated stories [of Pakistani attack], India is seeking to justify its continued blatant aggression against Pakistan," a source said.

Dar said that India issued a politically-motivated statement, saying that Pakistan attacked multiple Indian sites, calling it a "big lie", adding: "The act India has done today is shameful and condemnable India narrated a concocted story that it attacked with drones in retaliation to Pakistani attack on India."

Lt Gen Chaudhry assured the public that Pakistan remained vigilant against all threats and would continue to respond with both precision and restraint. "Our nation is united in faith and resolute in the defence of its sovereignty," he said.