The military on Wednesday said that India was attempting to “mould history to its liking by inventing outlandish, Bollywood-style scripts” in the aftermath of the May conflict between the two countries.
The May conflict between Pakistan and India was sparked by an attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir, which New Delhi, without evidence, linked with Pakistan. Islamabad strongly denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigation.
After New Delhi launched deadly air strikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir on May 7, Pakistan said it downed five Indian planes in air-to-air combat, later raising the tally to seven. After tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally reach a ceasefire. Islamabad has denied any losses of its planes and said it hit 26 Indian targets after its three air bases were targeted.
However, Indian political and military leadership have continued to make aggressive statements, repeating terrorism allegations that Pakistan has repeatedly refuted.
Yesterday, Indian Army’s Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai claimed that the Indian Navy was fully prepared during ‘Operation Sindoor’, the term New Delhi used for its May 7 strikes on Pakistan. He further said that any further hostilities by Pakistan could have been “catastrophic for it”, Times of India reported.
Lt Gen Ghai claimed that more than 100 Pakistani soldiers were killed during the May conflict along the Line of Control, according to The Hindu. The Indian officer also reiterated India’s claim of inflicting major damage on Pakistani airbases and destroying its air assets on the ground, the report said.
Without taking any names, a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) today said: “The contradictions in the Indian Army presser are so evident that they should not be dignified with a response. Evidently, the Indian leadership is attempting to mould history to its liking by inventing outlandish, Bollywood-style scripts.
“It appears that [the] Indian army and the political leadership have not been able to reconcile with the idea that they have been decisively beaten in Marka-i-Haq, and that their falsehoods have been fully exposed,” it added.
The military’s media affairs wing noted with grave concern that five months after the May conflict, “in the run-up to elections in Bihar and West Bengal, Indian military leadership has started parroting the same delusional, fabricated and provocative propaganda that they regurgitate before every state election in India”.
“It is saddening to see the military leadership of a nuclear-armed country issuing irresponsible statements under immense political pressure. The lies being fed to the Indian public and international audience have turned the Indian military machine into a laughing stock,” the statement said.
The ISPR cautioned that “any professional soldier would know that unnecessary chest thumping and unwarranted statements might initiate a cycle of jingoism and lead to serious consequences for peace and stability in South Asia”.
It asserted that the world now recognised India as the “true face of cross-border terrorism and the epicentre of regional instability, bent upon adventurism and hegemonism to the detriment of its people and its neighbours”.
The ISPR stressed that the “Indian armed forces and its political masters must realise that Pakistan’s people and its armed forces are fully capable and committed to defend every inch of our territory with full resolve”.
“Every act of aggression will be dealt with a swift, resolute and intense response that will be remembered by posterity,” it said.
Last week, the military’s top brass had warned India that any “imaginary new normal” its leadership might be entertaining about bilateral dynamics would be met with a “new normal of swift retributive response”.
