In an interview with Turkiye public broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television World (TRT World), Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said India’s assertions of Pakistani missile and drone attacks on three Indian military bases were “fabricated” and unsupported by evidence.
“Pakistan has not fired rockets, drones, or missiles into Indian territory,” Gen Chaudhry said. “What we are doing is responding with small arms fire to Indian military posts targeting civilians across the LoC.”
He added, “India has created a media blitz, a frenzy, claiming aircraft, drone and missile attacks across the international border. That is absolutely false. There is no electronic signature, no captured pilots, and no evidence—only media storytelling.”
DG ISPR reiterated that Pakistan is engaging Indian military positions as a defensive response to Indian shelling that he claimed has deliberately targeted civilian populations.
“These are not offensive operations. There has been no use of drones or missiles by Pakistan,” he said.
India on Wednesday accused Pakistan of attacking military bases with drones and missiles, an allegation Pakistan has strongly denied. DG ISPR said that in today’s warfare, such attacks would leave electronic signatures and physical evidence, none of which India has presented.
The general also responded to accusations surrounding the recent attack on tourists in Indian Illegaly Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), saying the perpetrators remain unknown.
“We have not been shown any credible evidence linking the attack to Pakistan,” he said. “India walked away from the offer of an independent and neutral investigation.”
He also accused India of using such incidents as political pretexts. “India has a pattern of using terror incidents to justify aggression for domestic political purposes,” he said.
“After the Karzhan attack, instead of cooperating, India responded with strikes on six locations in Pakistan, including mosques and civilian sites, resulting in the deaths of children, women, and the elderly,” he added.
Asked about potential economic repercussions, including reports of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reviewing Pakistan’s $7 billion bailout, DG ISPR deferred, saying such matters fall under the domain of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Foreign Office.
Latest tensions
The latest escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan follows the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which resulted in 26 fatalities. India immediately accused Pakistan-based elements of orchestrating the attack, although no evidence was provided. Islamabad has strongly rejected these allegations.
In retaliation, India closed the Wagah land border on April 23, suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, and revoked Pakistani visas. Pakistan responded by labeling any disruption to water flow as an “act of war” and closed the Wagah crossing on its side.
The situation escalated further on Wednesday, as reports from various cities in Pakistan, including Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Muridke, and Bahawalpur, detailed multiple explosions. Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, confirmed that Indian airstrikes had targeted multiple locations within Pakistan. In response, Pakistan launched swift air and ground operations.
Within the first hour of retaliation, Pakistan announced the downing of five Indian fighter jets, including four Rafale aircraft, which India had recently acquired from France to strengthen its air defenses following the failed Balakot operation in 2019.
“Pakistan could have shot down 10 Indian fighter jets,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said during a press briefing. “But Pakistan chose to exercise restraint.”
Despite the scale of the response, Indian media remained largely silent on the losses. The Hindu, a prominent Indian newspaper, initially reported that three Indian jets had been downed but later removed the article, likely under pressure from the Indian government to avoid further embarrassment.
An American commentator on CNN stated that the potential loss of Rafale jets would severely damage India’s claim to air superiority, which it had built around the induction of these advanced French warplanes. Some experts speculated that the confrontation served as a test of Chinese and Western military technologies, particularly after Pakistan acquired J-10C jets from China in response to India’s Rafale fleet.
A senior French intelligence official confirmed to CNN that one Rafale jet had indeed been shot down by Pakistan, marking the first time that this sophisticated French aircraft had been lost in combat.
In another development, the Pakistan armed forces confirmed the neutralization of 25 Israeli-made Harop drones used by India in recent cross-border activity.
A statement issued by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Thursday confirmed that these drones were shot down using both electronic countermeasures (soft-kill techniques) and conventional weaponry (hard-kill systems) after they were detected flying over multiple areas across Pakistan.
The ISPR described the drone incursions as a “desperate and panicked response” by India, which came after Pakistan’s retaliatory operations on May 6 and 7, in which five Indian fighter jets were downed and several military posts were struck.
Unfazed by the Israeli-made armed drones, called “loitering munitions”, sent by India over multiple cities of Pakistan, including Karachi, residents of the metropolitan city poured onto the streets in an extraordinary wave of solidarity with the armed forces.
The number of Indian drones downed by Pakistani armed forces had reached at least 77, security sources confirmed on Friday.