Defence Minister Khawaja Asif hit back early Sunday at what he called provocative remarks from India’s top security officials, warning that India would be “buried under the wreckage of its warplanes, Inshallah.”
In a post on X, Asif described recent comments by India’s military and political leaders as a failed attempt to restore their lost credibility. He said their statements showed pressure at the top.
“After such a decisive defeat with a score of 6-0, if they try again, the score will be even worse,” the minister wrote. He added that public opinion in India had turned strongly against the ruling party after that defeat, and that was reflected in the leaders’ words.
The defence minister also said, “Pakistan is a state built in the name of Allah, our defenders are soldiers of Allah. This time, India, Inshallah, will be buried under the wreckage of its planes. Allahu Akbar.”
Earlier, the military’s spokesperson had also reacted to the same remarks from Indian security circles.
Responding to India’s war rhetoric, the country’s armed forces warned that “provocative and jingoistic remarks” from senior Indian security officials risk fabricating pretexts for aggression and could lead to “cataclysmic devastation,”.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that such remarks suggested a renewed attempt to manufacture arbitrary pretexts for aggression that would have “serious consequences for peace and stability in South Asia”.
A day earlier, Indian Air Force Chief Amar Preet Singh claimed that India downed five Pakistani fighter jets of the F-16 and JF-17 class during the intense fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May.
“As far as air defence part is concerned, we have evidence of one long range strike…along with that five fighters, high-tech fighters between F-16 and JF-17 class, our system tells us,” Singh told reporters at the Indian Air Force annual day press conference.
However, he did not provide any evidence to back his claim.
Pakistan’s military slammed India for long portraying itself as a victim while “stoking violence and perpetrating terrorism in South Asia and beyond”, saying that this narrative has been debunked.
The ISPR added that the international community now recognises India as “the true face of cross-border terrorism and the epicentre of regional instability”.
Referring to incidents earlier this year, the ISPR said Indian aggression had previously brought “two nuclear powers to the brink of a major war”, and criticised Indian leadership for apparently ignoring the “wreckage of its fighter jets and the wrath of Pakistan’s long-range vectors”.
On the recent comments by India’s defence minister and service chiefs, the military cautioned that a fresh round of hostilities “might lead to cataclysmic devastation”.
It further warned that Pakistan “shall not hold back” and “shall resolutely respond, without any qualms or restraint” if hostilities are triggered.
The statement added that those seeking to establish a “new normal” should be aware that Pakistan has itself established a new normal of response, which will be swift, decisive and destructive.
On rhetoric about erasing Pakistan from the map, the ISPR said India “must know that if the situation comes, the erasure will be mutual.”
Separately, security sources described India’s threats as empty bluster. They said the armed forces were fully prepared to defend the country.
The May fighting, the worst between the old foes in decades, was sparked by a terrorist attack on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam area, which New Delhi said was backed by Pakistan.
Islamabad denied involvement in the Kashmir attack, which killed 26 men and was the worst assault on civilians in India since the Mumbai attacks in 2008.
After the incident, India killed several innocent civilians in unprovoked attacks on Pakistan for three days before the Pakistan Armed Forces retaliated in defence with the successful Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.
Pakistan downed six IAF fighter jets, including three Rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States.
