PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has termed the Indian attack “an act of war” and said that Pakistan reserves the right to respond, while giving an interview to Sky News.

“We’ve time and time again insisted that our hands are clean and offered an impartial inquiry to any and all accusations,” he said, while reiterating the offer for an inquiry.

He said that Pakistan’s armed forces have acted bravely, with precision, and in self-defence during these attacks, where Pakistan downed five Indian aircraft.

“India’s attacks took place in Pakistani territory, targeting cities where innocent civilians live, [and] civilian infrastructure, including a dam.”

Asked about reports regarding Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar’s family members being killed in the Indian strikes, Bilawal refuted the claims as baseless. “This is absolute fiction, and has been rebuffed. It is fake news, and I’m correcting your quote that originates from fake news on social media and has been rebuffed by local impartial and authoritative journalists,” he said.

“India has manufactured a lie out of a baseless accusation, and if there is any truth to this lie, why did it not agree to Pakistan’s offer of an impartial investigation or wait for the international journalists who were already visiting these sites?” he added.

Bilawal continued that this was a lie to target Pakistani civilians and that these accusations cannot be used to justify “illegal and imperialistic actions.”