Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has revealed that Operation Binyan al-Marsous, Pakistan’s response to India’s airstrike, was carried out with the consultation of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He further stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also consulted with other political parties before taking action.
In a statement, Ishaq Dar confirmed that India launched an attack on Pakistan’s airbases on May 9, prompting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to declare that “enough is enough.” Dar explained that the decision to retaliate had been carefully planned, with Nawaz Sharif’s consultation integral to the response.
Regarding the Pahalgam incident, Dar revealed that he was with the Prime Minister in Ankara at the time of the attack. The Pakistani government reached out to over 100 diplomats and offered an impartial investigation into the incident. Dar emphasized that Pakistan had no involvement in the Pahalgam event, and this message was conveyed to the world.
The Deputy Prime Minister also mentioned that prior to the escalation, international calls for restraint were being made, but Pakistan had maintained that it would not initiate aggression. “We said if an attack occurs, we will respond, and we did exactly that,” Dar stated.
He further explained that while up to 10 to 15 aircraft could have been downed, Pakistan specifically targeted those planes that had dropped payloads, resulting in five aircraft being shot down.
Dar also detailed India’s missile strike on Pakistan, revealing that India fired four missiles, three of which hit Amritsar, while one aimed at Pakistani airspace was intercepted and destroyed. On May 8, Pakistan had already downed 29 Indian drones before the escalation on May 9, which led to Pakistan’s decisive response.
