DG ISPR refutes Indian claims of downing F-16; says Pakistan doesn't want war

RAWALPINDI: Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor refuted all Indian claims of downing Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jet inside arch-rival’s boundary, adding “Pakistan wants peace and India needs to understand war is a failure of policy.” 

Holding an important press conference in the wake of Pakistan’s robust response to Indian aggression on Wednesday, the military spokesperson stressed that Pakistan’s reaction of shooting down Indian fighter jets and arresting their pilots, can not be indicated as victory because “we only reacted in our defense and there are no victors in war.”

Underlining Pakistan’s stance on the current tension, he said “Pakistan’s response is not a retaliation, but a demonstration of our capability as we are a responsible country. It is now up to India whether they go towards peace, which is a requirement of the region. But if forced, we will respond.”

Refuting Indian media reports that a Pakistani F-16 jet was shot down in the eastern neighbour, DG ISPR clarified, “Pakistan did not use F-16 in any activity today.”

DG ISPR dismissed Indian media reports regarding the crash of Pakistan’s fighter jet F-16

Major General Ghafoor further emphasized, “Pakistan does not want war, our message is for peace.”

Responding to a question, Major General Ghafoor said, “Pakistan is not pushing for war. We engaged our targets in open air, we deliberately avoided escalation. We could easily have taken the original targets, but we did not do that.”

How Pakistan targeted India?

The military spokesperson explained the ongoing activity at the Line of Control (LoC) and shared, “PAF engaged six targets across LoC from within Pakistani airspace.”

Pakistan’s armed forces have capability, resolve and nation’s support. But, since “we are a responsible state and we want peace, therefore, we first decided not to attack any military targets.”

“Secondly, we decided that there be no loss of life or collateral damage in our engaging of targets,” he added. “Our planes locked targets, then in open air, we carried out strikes,” he continued.

“We locked all targets with accuracy, and when we had option to fire, we acted responsibly from a safe distance. We have capability to do anything, but we don’t want escalation. We don’t want to go towards war,” the DG asserted.

“After PAF decided on targets, two Indian jets entered Pakistani airspace and the PAF faced them. The two planes were shot down — one fell in our space and the other on their side. Two pilots were arrested — one of them was injured and has been taken to CMH and will be given proper care. Another is in our custody.”

‘Now it’s time for India to wait for our response’

Director General ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor on Tuesday categorically rejected Indian claim of an airstrike inside Pakistan on Feb 26.

He sternly warned India: “We will strike back at the time and place of our choosing, now it is India’s time to wait for our response.”

The military’s spokesman maintained that the Indian claim of killing over 300 terrorists and staying within Pakistani territory in 21 minutes is entirely false as anyone can see that there is no evidence of any casualty or rubble at the alleged “attack” site.