In its statement, the NSC said it deliberated upon the “grave developments arising out of India’s unprovoked, cowardly and unlawful act of war”.

“These unprovoked and unjustified attacks deliberately targeted the civilian areas, on the false pretext of presence of imaginary terrorist camps, resulting in the martyrdom of innocent men, women, and children, and causing damage to the civilian infrastructure, including mosques,” the NSC highlighted.

It stressed that India’s “act of aggression also caused grave danger to commercial airlines belonging to brotherly Gulf countries, endangering the lives of thousands of on-board passengers”. “Besides, the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project was also deliberately targeted in violation of international conventions.”

The NSC recalled that the Indian army launched “coordinated missile, air and drone strikes on multiple locations within Pakistan’s sovereign territory, including Sialkot, Shakargarh, Muridke, and Bahawalpur in Punjab [as well as] Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Azad Jammu and Kashmir”.

“The forum offered fateha for the souls of the innocent civilians martyred in India’s strikes, extended its heartfelt condolences to the near ones of the martyrs and wished a speedy recovery to the injured,” the committee said.