Pakistan’s government, after holding its National Security Committee, issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon, saying that its forces brought down “five Indian fighter aircrafts and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the process.” It also stated that the country “reserves the right to respond, in self-defence, at a time, place, and manner of its choosing to avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives and blatant violation of its sovereignty.”
Multiple Pakistani security officials had earlier told Nikkei Asia on condition of anonymity that five Indian aircraft were shot down in self-defense. Officials said the aircraft were targeted while attempting to strike Pakistan from Indian airspace. The downed aircraft include three Rafale jets, one MiG-29 and an SU-30, the security officials claimed.
Pakistan has not shared evidence of the downed aircraft as of the time of publication, but some debris from fallen aircraft were reportedly found inside the territory under India’s control. India’s defense ministry held a news conference on Wednesday but made no official mention about downed fighters.
Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan’s information minister, said in a document released following the shootdowns that several posts of the Indian army near the border have been destroyed by the armed forces.
© Getty ImagesPakistan Army mouthpiece Inter-Services Public Relations has reported that Indian attacks early on Wednesday morning targeted six sites inside territory under Pakistan’s control. “In these six localities, 26 Pakistanis have been slain, 46 have been injured,” the ISPR said.
Earlier in the day, India said its armed forces launched “Operation Sindoor,” hitting “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in a major escalation of tensions between the countries following last month’s Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people.
“Altogether, nine sites have been targeted,” a statement from India’s Ministry of Defence said, adding that it hit targets “from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.”
Two separate Pakistani security officials told Nikkei Asia on condition of anonymity that India’s strikes have hit civilian locations in Pakistan, most of which were mosques. Children and women are among the casualties.
An Islamabad-based analyst said Pakistan was prepared to respond quickly.
Indian Air Force Rafale fighters perform a flyby during the Aero India 2021 air show at the Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru in 2021. Pakistan says it has downed three Indian Rafale jets. © Reuters“As compared to February 2019, this time Pakistan’s military was far more ready, willing and well-equipped to quickly and effectively respond to any act of Indian aggression,” Syed Muhammad Ali, an Islamabad-based security analyst, told Nikkei. “And it seems that Indian leadership miscalculated Islamabad’s resolve and readiness to respond in kind and inside Indian territory instead of merely defending Pakistan’s territory and airspace.”
Ali alluded to a previous conflict between the countries in which India bombed a location it identified as a terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan.
“One hopes [Pakistan’s retaliation] will convince Indian leadership to restrain itself from further escalating the current crisis because it is possible that further escalation may not only be far more costly but also difficult to control,” Ali added.
After India’s strikes, Pakistan closed its airspace to all flights. Initial plans were to lift the ban after 48 hours, though that timetable was later moved up, with flights already resuming. Pakistan’s Punjab province declared a state of emergency, with hospitals and security forces on high alert.
A person injured in a suspected Indian missile attack, receives treatment at a hospital in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, on May 7. © Inter Services Public Relations/APPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday morning called a meeting of the National Security Committee, the topmost forum for national security decision-making. After the meeting, Sharif was to address the nation, according to Pakistan’s information ministry.
Experts said today’s events show the nuclear deterrence model is failing.
“We are seeing that the nuclear deterrence model between India and Pakistan is failing,” Tahir Naeem Malik, a professor at the National University of Modern Languages in Islamabad, told Nikkei. “In the past, Pakistan’s sovereignty was violated with attacks, and now India has adopted a new strategy by launching missiles and hitting targets inside Pakistan.”
After India’s strikes, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the U.N. in New York informed the U.N. Security Council about the “blatant aggression by India and the threat it posed to international peace and security,” according to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The Indian Charge d’Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to receive Pakistan’s strong protest over the unprovoked Indian strikes at multiple locations [across the de facto border]. The Indian side was warned that such reckless behavior poses a serious threat to regional peace and stability,” the ministry said in a statement.
One of the targets India shelled was the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Security officials speaking to Nikkei described the strike as a clear violation of international law.
Pakistan ally China immediately responded. “China finds India’s military operation early this morning regrettable,” a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. We are concerned about the ongoing situation.”
Shortly after the strikes, the Indian embassy in Washington said on its website that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and briefed him on the actions taken.
Sources have told Nikkei that Indian officials have given similar briefings to their counterparts in the U.K., Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E. and Russia.
“For the international community, the question is how to contain this war,” Malik said. “After all, both are nuclear-armed countries. Their strategic locations, close to the Middle East and neighboring China, make the risks to peace even greater. The real challenge is how to bring both sides back to normal relations and restore peace.”
Praveen Donthi, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for India, shared a statement with Nikkei. “Escalation between India and Pakistan has already reached a larger scale than during the last major crisis in 2019, with potentially dire consequences,” the statement says. “Major powers, including the U.S., should exert sustained pressure on both New Delhi and Islamabad to initiate back-channel talks and prevent further tit-for-tat.”
The article appeared in the asia.nikkei