RAWALPINDI: Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza on Tuesday declared that Pakistan had neither sought nor received any external help during the recent 96-hour military confrontation with India, asserting Islamabad relied solely on its internal capabilities.
In an interview with BBC, General Mirza dismissed reports suggesting foreign assistance, including satellite intelligence, was provided by allies such as China. “The equipment we used was either developed domestically or acquired beforehand. But in real-time, it was Pakistan’s own capability that came into play,” he mentioned.
Gen Mirza underscored that the 96-hour military engagement with India was managed independently, stating, “We fought the entire conflict with our own resources. No help came from anywhere.”
The CJCSC’s remarks provide rare official insight into the brief but intense military engagement between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
He acknowledged the gravity of the situation, suggesting that future engagements may no longer be confined to contested zones like Kashmir. “There is a relative calm on the borders now, but tension in the cities has increased. In the future, conflict will not remain restricted to specific areas,” he warned.
Commenting on the broader state of Pakistan-India relations, General Mirza said there is currently no “effective and systematic” mechanism to resolve disputes between the two nations. “We rely solely on the DGMO (Director General Military Operations) hotline for emergency communication,” he said, adding such arrangements are insufficient in times of high-intensity crises.
