Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has said that Pakistan is operating on the defensive and had no choice but to retaliate to India’s military actions.

Speaking to Geo News, DPM Dar said that “the tamasha [circus] that India has staged over the last three days, we will not let India claim hegemony. The Pakistan Armed Forces and government are determined that this will not happen.

“This operation that we started today, it will all end in some way. It all depends on what India wants,” he said.

“Pakistan had no choice, so our civil military leadership made the decision following the attack on Nur Khan Air Base. No more patience. We are just giving them a response.

“We’ve exhibited a lot of patience so far. There is a threshold which we cannot go beyond, especially when it comes to hypocrisy and double standards,” he said.

“The action that the Pakistan civil military leadership has taken is proportionate. Many more actions can be taken, and we are ready for that, but this is minimum action being taken just now which will be continued for a while. This is proportionate and measured, and everything that they’ve done, we are taking revenge for it.

“Even on the first day, we stayed in our space and attacked those jets that entered Pakistan, five of which we shot down. There were clear instructions not to be on the offensive. Our patience has been tested and has run out, and the actions that have been taken are retaliatory and defensive, the world can see that.”