ISLAMABAD — Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday declared that India has made a grave miscalculation by launching aggression against Pakistan, warning that New Delhi will face serious consequences for its actions.
Speaking in a televised address to the nation, the prime minister said, “India wrongly assumed that Pakistan would back down. But it forgets that this nation is home to brave sons who have always fought for the motherland, shedding every last drop of their blood.”
His remarks followed a crucial meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), Pakistan’s top security forum, which formally authorized the country’s armed forces to respond decisively to India’s attacks. The NSC stated that Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate “at a time, place, and manner of its choosing,” to avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives and the violation of its sovereignty.
Earlier in the day, India launched coordinated air, missile, and drone strikes on multiple sites across Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 civilians—including women and children—and injuring 46 more. Among the dead was 7-year-old Irtaza Abbas, who was struck by shrapnel while at home with his family.
In a pointed message, PM Shehbaz said the world witnessed how Pakistan’s air force swiftly retaliated, shooting down five Indian fighter jets—including Rafales, a Su-30MKI, and a MiG-29—and reducing them “to a pile of ashes.” He added, “Pakistan has proven once again how to strike back with a solid blow.”
The prime minister offered praise to the military leadership, saluting the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Babar Sidhu, and Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf, as well as every officer and soldier.
Addressing India’s allegations of Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam attack, Shehbaz rejected them as baseless. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s peaceful stance, noting that Islamabad had offered an international, transparent investigation—which the world acknowledged—but that India chose aggression over dialogue.
Shehbaz emphasized that under international law and United Nations resolutions, Jammu and Kashmir remains a recognized dispute, one that India cannot alter “no matter how many decisions it makes.”
Pakistan, he reminded, has already paid a heavy price in the global fight against terrorism, with over 90,000 lives lost and economic damages exceeding $152 billion. He dismissed any notion that India’s attacks could distract Pakistan from this fight, declaring that the nation stands united and determined to defend its sovereignty.
NSC Meeting Deliberates Firm Response
The NSC, chaired by PM Shehbaz, convened in response to India’s overnight assault on locations including Sialkot, Shakargarh, Muridke, Bahawalpur, Kotli, and Muzaffarabad. Senior military leaders and key ministers attended the meeting, which denounced India’s “cowardly and unlawful act of war.”
The NSC confirmed that Pakistan’s armed forces had downed five Indian fighter jets and multiple drones in retaliation, while defending the country’s territorial integrity, including that of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the NSC statement, India’s unprovoked attacks targeted civilian areas under the false pretext of terrorist camps, killing innocent men, women, and children, and damaging mosques and infrastructure—including the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project. The attacks also posed severe risks to international commercial flights passing through the region.
The NSC described the Indian strikes as blatant violations of Pakistan’s sovereignty and international law, labeling them “acts of war.” It also condemned the deliberate targeting of civilians as a “heinous and shameful crime.”
Calling on the international community to hold India accountable, the NSC asserted that Pakistan remains committed to peace but will never allow violations of its sovereignty or harm to its people.
The NSC reminded that Pakistan had repeatedly rejected India’s claims about terrorist camps on its soil and had even invited international media for site visits—efforts that India disregarded.
The statement warned that India’s reckless actions have now set the region on fire, and the responsibility for the consequences will rest solely on New Delhi.
At the close of the meeting, the NSC offered prayers for the innocent lives lost and extended condolences to their families, while expressing hope for the swift recovery of the injured. The forum reaffirmed the nation’s unity and unwavering resolve to defend Pakistan in the face of any further aggression.
