Pakistan urges de-escalation if India ends military offensive

Pakistan will not escalate hostilities with India if New Delhi halts its military operation known as “Operation Sindoor” and other aggressive actions, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

“We have been saying all along in the last fortnight that we’ll never initiate anything hostile towards India,” Asif stated. “But if we're attacked, we'll respond. If India backs down, we will definitely wrap up this tension.”

Asked by the host whether talks were possible, the minister replied that he was not aware of any such potential engagements.

Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours spiked overnight after Indian forces launched airstrikes on six locations, including in Sialkot and Bahawalpur in Pakistan’s Punjab province, as well as in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. According to Pakistani media, the Indian strikes began around 1 a.m. on May 7 as part of “Operation Sindoor.” The Pakistani military confirmed the attacks through the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) wing, stating that India had launched the assault from within its own airspace.

By 4 a.m., a military spokesman provided an updated damage report, saying eight civilians had been killed in the initial Indian strikes. ISPR Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry later revised the civilian death toll to 26, with 46 people injured across the six targeted locations.

In response to the attacks, the Pakistani military retaliated and shot down five Indian aircraft. The destroyed aircraft reportedly included three Rafale fighter jets, a Su-30, and a MiG-29.

Around 2:45 a.m., Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed the destruction of two Indian planes and one drone. Shortly afterwards, Pakistani forces launched their retaliatory strike. Later in the morning, reports emerged of a third Rafale jet being shot down, with additional confirmations from both Tarar and Defence Minister Asif after 5 a.m. that two more Indian planes had been downed.

According to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, the Indian strikes resulted in 26 deaths and 46 injuries on their side.

By Tamilla Hasanova