ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday warned India that any future act of aggression would face a “strong and decisive retaliation,” following an unprovoked missile attack on Pakistani territory late Tuesday night.
Addressing the National Assembly, Dar condemned the Indian strike, calling it a “cowardly act” under the false pretext of the Pahalgam incident. He praised the Pakistan Air Force for its “measured and disciplined” response and said that Islamabad had made its position clear to the international community.
“India has already received a reply. But if it takes another step, the response will be harsher—brick for stone,” Dar said, drawing strong applause from the House.
He emphasized that Pakistan had taken a principled stance on the Pahalgam incident, offering full cooperation and investigation assistance—a gesture that was welcomed by several countries.
“We briefed over 40 foreign ambassadors and diplomats at the Foreign Office and made it clear: Pakistan will not be the one to initiate aggression,” he said.
Dar revealed that India launched 24 missile strikes on six sites in Pakistan, including locations in Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the martyrdom of 26 civilians and injuries to dozens more.
He accused India of orchestrating the situation for political and military theatrics, pointing to how the Pahalgam FIR was registered just minutes after the incident, calling the sequence “highly suspicious.”
Pakistan’s air response, he said, was precise and proportionate. “Our Air Force was instructed to target only those jets that dropped payloads. Had they not exercised restraint, 10 to 12 Indian jets could have been shot down,” he stated.
Dar confirmed that J-10C jets, procured with Chinese assistance, played a key role in the Pakistani response, and took a swipe at India’s Rafale fleet, calling their performance “miserable” and their pilots “incompetent.”
Highlighting growing Indian hostility, Dar said that any attempt to tamper with the Indus Waters Treaty would be viewed as an act of war. “This is not merely a legal matter—it is a red line,” he warned.
He also announced that Pakistan had formally written to the President of the United Nations and would again brief foreign diplomats in the evening on the evolving situation and India’s violations of international law.
Concluding his address, Dar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to peace, but warned that “any misadventure from India will be dealt with decisively.”
