NEW DELHI: Information Minister Atta Tarar said on Thursday that Pakistan’s retaliation across the Line of Control (LoC), following the Indian missile strikes, had killed between 40 and 50 Indian troops.
Speaking on a motion in the National Assembly, he mentioned that the National Security Committee (NSC) had authorised the country’s highly-prepared armed forces to respond at a time and place of their choosing.
“Forces have been given full authority to deliver an effective and strong response. Now, it is up to us to decide where this matter goes from here.
“Our response will come, and it will come soon. It will be a powerful response, one that the world will remember.”
The minister slammed India for cowardly attacking Pakistan under the cover of darkness, using its ad-vanced Rafale jets.
“India’s arrogance has been shattered, and while it thought it was invincible, it has now been hum-bled,” he said, adding, “Pakistan always unites as one powerful force in the face of such challenges.”
Tarar saluted Pakistan’s forces, calling them heroes for bringing down Indian aircraft and defeating In-dia’s pride.
He noted that India has now changed its strategy after failing to achieve its goals with high-tech weap-ons.
“Despite India’s superior technology, resilient Pakistanis are standing united in the face of any chal-lenge, and even the manufacturers of Rafale are questioning the effectiveness of their product.”
He also pointed out that the shares of Rafale’s manufacturer have dropped by 18%.
Responding to India’s cowardly midnight strikes on the night between May 6 and 7, Pakistan asserted its air combat dominance by downing five IAF fighter jets — including three Rafales, marking the first-ever kills of the French-made warplane.
A Su-30MKI and a MiG-29 Fulcrum were also among the downed Indian planes. CNN on Wednesday quoted a high-ranking French intelligence official as saying: “One Rafale fighter jet operated by the IAF (Indian Air Force) was downed by Pakistan, in what would mark the first time that one of the sophisti-cated French-made warplanes has been lost in combat.”
He said the country’s defence was in strong and safe hands and the armed forces are fully prepared. “The entire nation stands with the armed forces of Pakistan to respond to the Indian aggression,” the information minister said. –Agencies
