NEW YORK CITY: Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has condemned India for an “unprovoked, cowardly and unlawful act of war,” following overnight strikes that targeted locations across his country.
He convened the National Security Committee, Pakistan’s top security body, on Wednesday in the wake of the Indian strikes, which were part of a military action codenamed Operation Sindoor.
India launched a series of “coordinated missile, air and drone strikes on multiple locations within Pakistan’s sovereign territory,” the prime minister’s office said after the security meeting. The death toll from the strikes stood at 26, with 46 people injured.
Pakistan claimed to have shot down five Indian jets in retaliation, as Sharif on Wednesday authorized his nation’s military to take “corresponding actions” in response to the strikes.
The dramatic escalation follows weeks of mounting tensions between India and Pakistan following a terror attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22. The two nuclear-armed powers each administer parts of Kashmir but claim the region in full.
The statement by the prime minister’s office condemned the overnight strikes as “unprovoked and unjustified attacks” that “deliberately targeted civilian areas.”
India attacked Pakistan “on the false pretext of presence of imaginary terrorist camps, resulting in the martyrdom of innocent men, women and children, and causing damage to the civilian infrastructure, including mosques,” it added.
Pakistan accused India of “causing grave danger” to commercial airliners as a result of the attacks, “endangering the lives of thousands of onboard passengers.” The country also accused India of “deliberately targeting” the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, “in violation of international conventions.”
The statement repeated the government’s rejection of Indian allegations regarding the presence of terrorist camps on Pakistani territory.
In the aftermath of the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, “Pakistan made a sincere offer for a credible, transparent and neutral investigation, which unfortunately was not accepted,” it added.
“The Indian leadership, bereft of any morality, has now gone to the extent of attacking innocent civilians in order to satiate its delusional thoughts and short-sighted political objectives.”
Pakistan’s National Security Committee condemned the Indian strikes as “blatant violations of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, which manifestly constituted acts of war under international law.”
The country accused its rival of acting “against all sanity and rationality” and “once again igniting an inferno in the region.” Responsibility for the soaring tensions and outbreak of violence “lies squarely with India,” it added.
Citing Article 51 of the UN Charter, which addresses the right to individual or collective self-defense, Pakistan said it reserves the right to respond to the Indian attacks “at a time, place and manner of its choosing.”
It added: “Deeply anguished by India’s naked aggression, the entire Pakistani nation greatly appreciates and admires the bravery and courage of the armed forces and their timely action in the defense of their motherland.
“The nation stands galvanized and resolute in the face of any further aggression.”
The Pakistani statement urged the international community to recognize India’s “unprovoked illegal actions” and hold the country accountable.
“Pakistan remains committed to peace, with dignity and honor, and reiterates that it shall never allow any violation of its sovereignty, territorial integrity or permit any harm to its proud people,” it added.
