Pakistan vows "swift and severe" response to any Indian aggression “India isn’t Israel, Pakistan isn’t Palestine”

Pakistan has issued a strong warning to India amid renewed tensions over Kashmir, with a top military official asserting that Islamabad will not tolerate “aggression or coercion” from its eastern neighbour.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) — the media wing of the Pakistani military — told Türkish media that India should abandon any illusions of regional hegemony, Caliber.Az reports.

“India is not the United States, and Pakistan is not Afghanistan. India is not Israel, and Pakistan is not Palestine. Pakistan will never be restrained. We will never be coerced. We will never submit to Indian hegemony,” Gen Chaudhry said. “The sooner they realise this, the better it is for peace in the region and the world.”

His comments come in the wake of a deadly attack in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, for which New Delhi has blamed Pakistan. However, Chaudhry rejected the accusation, insisting that no credible evidence had been presented by Indian authorities.

“Pakistan has no link to the Pahalgam incident. These are India's internal matters, stemming from its repressive policies,” he said, reiterating that the Kashmir conflict remains a disputed issue that must be resolved in line with United Nations resolutions and the will of the Kashmiri people.

Chaudhry went further, accusing India of fostering unrest within Pakistan. He claimed that over 3,700 terrorist attacks had taken place in Pakistan since January 2024, resulting in more than 1,300 deaths and thousands of injuries, and blamed Indian intelligence services for backing such violence.

“All this terrorism is being supported and sponsored by India,” he alleged, adding that groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had openly appealed to India for military assistance following attacks in Pakistan, including a deadly assault on a train in Balochistan in March.

Chaudhry said Pakistan had gathered “extensive evidence” of Indian involvement in terrorist activity on its soil and had submitted this to the International Court of Justice.

“India is a state sponsor of terrorism in this region. Their intelligence agencies are training and financing terrorist outfits to destabilise Pakistan,” he added.

He also accused New Delhi of using incidents like Pahalgam to further political agendas, drawing parallels with the 2019 Pulwama attack, which preceded the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status by the Indian government.

“India is once again using an attack to create a pretext for aggression against Pakistan. But this time, we are better prepared,” the general warned.

On military developments, Chaudhry claimed that Pakistan had successfully downed five Indian fighter jets, including three Rafale aircraft, during recent hostilities. One Pakistani aircraft was reportedly slightly damaged.

“The world knows we brought down their planes. We even know where the pilots are being treated — we can name them,” he said, suggesting that India was concealing losses to avoid public embarrassment.

Chaudhry maintained that Pakistan remains committed to peace and continues to observe the ceasefire agreement signed on 10 May, but warned that any provocation would be met with a decisive response.

“If provoked, our retaliation will be immediate and severe. There should be no doubt about this,” he stated.

He concluded by accusing India of pursuing a policy of demographic change and repression in Kashmir, warning that its actions threaten the stability of South Asia and the lives of 1.6 billion people in the region.

“Arrogance and a false sense of superiority are endangering regional peace. We will never bow to bullying,” Chaudhry said.

By Aghakazim Guliyev