‘We will never bow down to Indian hegemony,’ DG ISPR says

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said Pakistan “will never bow down to Indian hegemony” as the recent ceasefire with India holds.

“The truth is that India is not the US and Pakistan is not Afghanistan. India is not Israel and Pakistan is not Palestine. Pakistan will never be deterred. It can never be coerced.

“We will never bow down to Indian hegemony. The sooner they realise this, the better it will be for regional peace and the world,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said to Anadolu Agency.

He argued that terrorism, extremism and hatred were India’s internal problems and that the New Delhi government was cracking down on groups including Muslims and Sikhs in the country, which was fuelling more anger, extremism and terrorism.

Earlier, the DG ISPR had said Pakistan is not a violent nation, reaffirming that the country’s top priority was peace as the recent ceasefire with India holds.

New Delhi had accused Islamabad, without evidence, of orchestrating last month’s deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Pakistan had strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral probe. As the situation turned into a military confrontation between the nuclear powers, it took American intervention for both sides to agree to a ceasefire.

“We are not a violent nation, we are a serious nation. Our first priority is peace,” Lt Gen Chaudhry told RT Arabic in an interview, according to PTV News.

“Great and sensible powers like the United States understand better what the spirit of Pakistan’s people is,” he added.

Detailing the ceasefire process, the DG ISPR said the Indian defence ministry’s spokesperson “personally requested a ceasefire”. It was unclear if the request was made to the US, which acted as a mediator, or Pakistan.

“We desire peace and stability, so we said, why not?” the military spokesman was quoted as saying by PTV News.

Lt Gen Chaudhry hailed the “tremendous work” done by diplomats by “engaging the international community with great wisdom and in an extraordinary manner”.

“Pakistan, with great maturity, responded promptly, firmly and effectively, forcing the enemy to face reality,” the DG ISPR asserted, referring to the downing of five Indian air jets in response to New Delhi’s deadly strikes on the night of May 6-7.

On the night of May 6-7, New Delhi launched a series of air strikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir, killing over 30 civilians. Islamabad responded by downing five Indian jets and later also intercepted dozens of its drones.

India then attacked Pakistani airbases and military targets on the night of May 9, prompting Pakistan to target its military installations using missiles and airstrikes under “Operation Bunyanum Marsoos”.

“The nation and the Pakistan armed forces stood united like an unbreakable wall,” he said.

Recalling the events of May 9-10, when the tensions between the two neighbours reached their peak amid airstrikes, the DG ISPR stated: “The enemy fired more missiles on the night of May 9 and 10 to scare us. India forgot that Pakistan’s nation and its forces neither bow nor can be made to bow.

“On the morning of May 10, we responded, targeting only their military objectives with utmost responsibility and caution,” he added.

The military spokesperson stressed, “Not a single civilian target was harmed; it was an appropriate, just and balanced response.”

‘India rejected logical neutral probe’

During his conversation reported by PTV News, Lt Gen Chaudhry emphasised that to understand the Pak-India tensions, it was “essential to look into its background”.

“India is hiding behind a false narrative to conceal the truth,” the ISPR official said. He noted that while the Indian media started blaming Pakistan “within minutes of the Pahalgam incident”, its foreign ministry spokesperson admitted two days later that the investigation was underway.

“Where is the wisdom in making allegations without investigation and evidence?” Gen Chaudhry asked rhetorically.

He highlighted that the government had taken a clear stance that if there was any evidence, it should be given to an impartial institution, and Pakistan was ready to cooperate.

“India rejected this logical offer and, acting unilaterally, fired missiles at our mosques, martyring children, women, and elders,” the DG ISPR said.

“The sacred responsibility entrusted to the Pakistan armed forces is to protect the country’s sovereignty and borders,” Lt Gen Chaudhry stated, adding that forces had fulfilled the duty and would “continue to do so at all costs”.

The DG ISPR reiterated the military’s stance that India was “sponsoring terrorism in this region, particularly in Pakistan”.

“India is the real sponsor of ongoing terrorism in Pakistan, whether it is the khawarij or terrorist groups active in Balochistan,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said, referring to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that the state refers to as Fitna Al Khawarij.

Last month, the military’s chief spokesperson had detailed that a Pakistani terror suspect allegedly trained by India was arrested in Punjab’s Jhelum.