ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military claims to have shot down five Indian fighter jets in response to overnight airstrikes carried out by India on six locations, including Sialkot and Bahawalpur in Punjab, as well as some areas in PaK Jammu and Kashmir, according to Dawn.
The confrontation reportedly began shortly after 1 a.m. on Wednesday, when India launched what it called “Operation Sindoor” from within its own airspace. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) later confirmed the strikes and issued an initial assessment around 4 a.m., stating that eight civilians had been killed.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced that two Indian jets were downed around 2:45 a.m. as part of Pakistan’s counterattack, with a third, a Rafale aircraft, confirmed destroyed about an hour later. The fourth and fifth downings were confirmed after 5 a.m. by both Tarar and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.
Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director General of ISPR, later updated the civilian toll, reporting that 26 people had died and 46 were injured across the six locations struck by India.
Tarar added that the Pakistani military had also destroyed several Indian army posts near the border. He criticized India for attacking civilians and laborers, noting that Pakistan had earlier requested an investigation into the Pahalgam incident but India instead launched the airstrikes and then “ran away from the consequences.” He also emphasized that Pakistan’s retaliation deliberately avoided civilian targets in India.
(Inputs from Dawn)
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