Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has authorized the country’s top security agencies and armed forces to respond to Indian military strikes that killed over 20 Pakistani civilians overnight. Sharif announced the decision in a statement on Wednesday.
The escalation follows India’s assault on nine alleged Pakistani “terrorist infrastructure” sites, which it claimed were involved in the planning of an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22. That attack, carried out at the Pahalgam tourist hill station, resulted in the deaths of 26 people.
In retaliation, Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, reported that five Indian aircraft and one combat drone were shot down during the strikes. He identified the aircraft as three Rafales, one MiG-29, and one Su-57.
Prime Minister Sharif’s office stated that Pakistan’s response is justified under Article 51 of the UN Charter, which affirms a nation’s right to self-defense. Sharif, after leading a National Security Committee meeting, affirmed that the Pakistani Armed Forces are fully authorized to take “corresponding actions.”
The statement accused India of “igniting an inferno” in the region, warning that responsibility for any further escalation rests solely with New Delhi.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry also summoned India’s chargé d’affaires to lodge a formal protest against what it described as “unprovoked Indian strikes,” warning that such actions threaten regional peace and stability.
Global leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, have reacted to the rising tensions, which mark a sharp escalation in the long-standing conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
