Ceasefire request came from India, says DG ISPR

RAWALPINDI:

Pakistani military hit 26 Indian military facilities and dozens of Pakistani drones hovered over major Indian cities, including capital New Delhi, in the offensive operations on Saturday, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said on Sunday.

The chief military spokesperson said that the Pakistan Armed Forces fulfilled the promise they made to the nation to avenge the martyrdom of innocent civilians, including children, in strikes in the night between May 6 and 7.

Chaudhry spoke to the media at a joint press conference along with Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Operations) Vice Admiral Raja Rab Nawaz, to share details of the Bunyanal Marsoos operation, carried out against India on Saturday.

Chaudhry said that 26 military targets as well as facilities that were used to target Pakistani citizens and those enterprises that were responsible for fomenting terrorism in Pakistan were engaged in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and the mainland India.

The targets, included Indian air force and aviation bases in Suratgarh, Sirsa, Adampur, Bhuj, Nalia, Bhatinda, Barnala, Harwara, Avantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Mamoon, Ambala, Udhampur and Pathankot - all of which sustained major damages, he added.

"Barhmos facilities, which fired missiles in Pakistan and killed innocent civilians, were destroyed. S-400 battery system at Udhampur and Bhuj, were also attacked by the proud Pakistan Air Force [PAF]," Lt Gen Chaudhry told the media.

"Military logistic and support sites which helped sustain this unlawful operation against innocent Pakistani civilians like field supply depot at Uri and radar station at Poonch were also targeted," he added.

Furthermore, the chief military spokesperson said, military command headquarters, which helped plan the operation of killing of innocent citizens, including 10th and 80th Brigade at KG Top and Nowshera were also destroyed.

The ISPR director general also said that facilities which harboured and trained proxy elements to perpetrate terrorist attacks inside Pakistan and kill innocent civilians here were specifically identified and destroyed.

Across the Line of Control (LoC), military elements, including headquarters, logistic bases, artillery positions and posts that had caused civilian casualties in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) through unprovoked artillery and small arms fire were relentlessly targeted and heavily damaged until they raised the white flags and asked for restraint.

"Pakistan has brought justice and retribution for reprehensible Indian military's aggression and brutal killings of our citizens. Pakistan's response was a textbook demonstration of integrated tri-services jointness enabled by real-time situational awareness, and network-centric warfare capabilities," he said.

"This synergy across air, land, sea and cyber domains allowed for precision engagements, overwhelming lethality and rapid tempo. All platforms operated in synergy, delivering coordinated effects at carefully selected, decisive points" he added.

He said precision-guided long-range Fateh series missiles F-1 and F-2 of the Pakistan Army, precision munitions of the PAF, highly capable long-range loitering killer munitions and precision long-range artillery were used.

Pakistan Armed Forces, he said, also carried out comprehensive and effective cyber offensive to temporarily cripple and degrade critical infrastructure and services that were being used by Indian forces to sustain their operations, he continued.

"Let me tell you that Pakistan Armed Forces possess an adequate suite of very sophisticated niche military technologies. Only some of which were used with restraint in this conflict. Pakistan's military response has been precise, proportionate and still remarkably restrained."

The DG ISPR revealed that Pakistan also sustained an abnormal and immediate spike in Indian-sponsored terrorism across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, while "we were busy in operations" on the eastern front.

This spike in terrorism, he said, vindicated that India was directly involved in fomenting terrorism in Pakistan and its proxies were fully operationalised during this time to distract the attention of the security forces. However, the forces carried out most effective counter-terrorism operations in the western region without any pause," he asserted.

The chief military spokesperson asserted that Pakistan never targeted civilians because "our religion, culture and professionalism doesn't allow us" to do so. "We will never target civilians. Even from Indian statements, did you find that Pakistan attacked anything other than military targets? No."

He said that Alhamd-o-lillah, Pakistan Armed Forces "delivered on the promise made to our people", adding: "I begin by thanking Almighty Allah for His infinite blessings, mercy, help and divine support as He has ordained the believers to retaliate whenever they are wronged."

He expressed sympathies with families of the Shuhada and prayed for the quick recovery of injured countrymen. He extended heartfelt gratitude to every officer, soldier, airman and sailor of the Armed Forces who made this success on the battlefield possible through their courage and professionalism.

He also expressed profound appreciation to the brave Pakistani nation, including the youth of Pakistan, who became the frontline soldiers as information and cyber warriors of the country. "Profound thanks are also due to you, the vibrant media of Pakistan who also stood like Bunyanun Marsoos," he said.

"We are extremely grateful to the political leadership of all political parties without any distinction for their unified resolve in support for their armed forces," adding that the armed forces were specifically grateful to the inspiring leadership of the prime minister of Pakistan and his cabinet ministers.

During the war, Chaudhry said that Pakistan's air defence system worked accurately and destroyed all hostile drones that entered its airspace. He shared that around 84 drones were shot down. "We had promised that anything sent toward us would not go back - and we kept that promise," he stated.

Responding to a question about the ceasefire, Chaudhry said clarified that Pakistan never requested it. "Put it on record" that Pakistan "never requested for a ceasefire," he said. "On the night of May 6 and 7, after those dastardly and cowardly attacks were made, Indians requested and Pakistan gave a very clear response that we will communicate back only after we have given the response that this act deserves."

On May 10, he said, after the "response and retribution […] and on the request and intervention of international interlocutors, we responded to the already-made request of the Indians," he said. "If you look at public statements from India's Ministry of Defence and armed forces, they were clearly calling for de-escalation," he noted.

Responding to another question, he said, "In a conflict between two rival nuclear powers … such a conflict is actually an absurdity and it is inconceivable and sheer stupidity. In the case of India and Pakistan, such a conflict can lead to peril of more than 1.6 billion people," he said.

"In reality, there is no space for war between India and Pakistan, and if anyone wants to carve out this space for war, he is actually carving out the space for mutual annihilation. This is why you saw how in this conflict Pakistan acted in a very mature manner," the GG ISPR emphasised.

"Through conventional forces, we maintained escalation control, through conventional forces, we gave them a two notch up response while also ensuring that the Pakistani forces employed on the counterterrorism operations … no pull is also exerted on them."

DG ISPR has clarified that Pakistan has no Indian pilot in custody, blaming it to "social media chatter". He said: "This is all part of fake news and propaganda that has been generated from multiple sources."

On the occasion, Air Vice Marshal Ahmed said that the PAF responded boldly and confidently. "Our action was based on our own timing and choice. The leadership was clear and gave us firm instructions," he said.

He added that the PAF targeted the highest number of Indian Air Force (IAF) airfields in a single mission since 1971. "We avoided civilian damage and hit with great accuracy," he noted. "Pakistan's swift and effective reply stopped India from creating a new normal through aggressive actions."

He affirmed that Pakistan remained committed to protecting its airspace and promoting peace through strength. He credited the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Zaheer Ahmad Babar, as the main mind behind the operation. "He (CAS) gave us three tasks: restore deterrence, neutralise threats, and control the air."

Aurangzeb revealed that in the first phase of the response, Pakistan targeted Indian Rafale jets, grounding the fleet near the western border. "This limited their options and freedom of action," he said, adding that India then launched drone attacks on Pakistani civilian areas. However, Pakistan's radar and jamming systems detected and disabled all drones, making them useless.

Vice Admiral Raja Rab Nawaz said that there was a lot of talk about the Indian aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, coming toward Karachi. "We tracked it closely from the start. On May 6-7, it was near Bombay, and by May 9, it came within 400 nautical miles of our coast, then turned back."

He explained that if the carrier had come closer, the Pakistan Navy was ready to respond. "Our maritime air arm was fully prepared, and we stayed in contact with the air force throughout," he said.

"As a military officer, I don't take the enemy lightly, but let's be realistic. The Vikrant only carries 8-12 MiG-29s, enough for its own defence - not much more," he said, adding that the Indian Navy understood the heavy price they would pay if they tried to act from the sea - and that's why they stayed back.

Rab Nawaz stated that the Pakistan Navy had maintained constant vigilance within its maritime borders and had remained prepared to respond effectively, possessing the capability to deter any enemy intrusion into its territories. He added that the Navy had ensured the ports remained operational during times of tension with India.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)