KARACHI: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday described May’s brief but intense war with India as “textbook deterrence,” saying Pakistan’s military response had reinforced its role as a stabilizing force in South Asia.
India and Pakistan fought a four-day war in May 2025 following an attack on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan has denied involvement. The violence spiraled into the deadliest cross-border hostilities since 2019, with missile, drone and artillery exchanges killing more than 70 people before both sides agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire.
In Islamabad’s telling, it shot down at least six Indian planes during the fighting and forced New Delhi to agree to a ceasefire, which it says proved Islamabad could impose costs high enough to prevent further escalation.
“This false notion of rising India and assuming this role of a bully in South Asia was very effectively countered by Pakistan during the four-day war,” Tarar said as he addressed an event organized by a think tank in Islamabad.
“The whole world witnessed that when an aggressor resorted to unprovoked, unjustified aggression, the whole Pakistani nation came together and our response compelled the enemy not only to retreat but to request for a ceasefire so that, ladies and gentlemen, was textbook deterrence.”
He added that Pakistan would continue to play its role in maintaining and supporting peace in the region and “act not only as a deterrent but also as a balancer in this region.”
CRICKET TIES
The minister also linked the conflict to more recent friction between the two neighbors on the cricket pitch.
Their teams faced off at the Asia Cup in Dubai last Sunday, after which Pakistan lodged a protest with the International Cricket Council (ICC) as India’s players walked off without the customary handshake at the end of the game.
“Now they’re trying to politicize the sport of cricket, that is just a failed attempt in saving oneself from embarrassment because we proved our military dominance,” Tarar said. “Now they’re bringing politics to the sports grounds.”
His comments came as Pakistan has pressed the ICC to remove the match referee after alleging bias in the handling of the India clash, underscoring how political and security tensions frequently spill over into sport between the two neighbors.
The two countries also remain locked in disputes over the contested Kashmir region that they both claim in full but rule in part, as well as water resources and cross-border militancy.
