ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar declared on Wednesday that India had effectively conceded defeat by raising a white flag at the Line of Control (LoC). Speaking at the Pak-China Friendship Centre in Islamabad, he praised the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) for its decisive retaliation following Indian missile attacks on civilian areas in Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Tarar stated that the PAF successfully shot down five Indian fighter jets and a drone in response to the unprovoked aggression. He added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was personally overseeing the situation, and the nation was standing firmly behind the military.
Condemning India’s targeting of civilians, Tarar stressed that Pakistan had only engaged military aircraft involved in the attack. He pointed out that Indian media was also reporting the loss of their aircraft and highlighted the nation’s overnight prayers for Pakistan’s armed forces.
Tarar reiterated Pakistan’s long-standing sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, citing over 90,000 lives lost. He criticized India for rejecting Islamabad’s offer of an independent probe into the Pahalgam incident, describing it as an attempt to hide the truth and malign Pakistan globally.
In a separate briefing, DG ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif confirmed the deaths of eight Pakistani civilians and injuries to 35 others due to 24 Indian missile strikes across six areas, including Kotli, where a mosque was hit. Two civilians remain unaccounted for, and among the dead were a 16-year-old girl and an 18-year-old boy. A woman and her daughter were also wounded.
