• Outlines strategic consequences of the May 2025 conflict; says uptick in terror attacks seen after the war subsided with strikes on Afghan terror infrastructure
• AVM Ghazi reminds score is ‘eight-zero’; confirms four Rafales shot down by PAF

RAWALPINDI: In a wide-ranging press briefing, held exactly a year after Indian unprovoked aggression against Pakistan, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry reminded New Delhi that it had still not provided any evidence justifying its misadventure of May 2025.

Last year’s military conflict with India, beginning with the April 22 Pahalgam attack and ending with Operation Bunyanum Marsoos and the May 10 ceasefire, has been dubbed ‘Marka-i-Haq’ (Battle of Truth) by the state.

He said that at the time, India had attempted to blame Pakistan for terrorism without evidence, and noted that questions raised by Pakistan after the Pahalgam incident remained unanswered, even a year later.

“Where is the evidence?” he asked, adding: “Nobody buys this … you are the biggest terrorist,” he said.

Speaking alongside Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (operations) Rear Admiral Shifaat Ali, Deputy Chief of Air Staff (projects) Air Vice Marshal Tariq Ghazi, Lt Gen Chaudhry highlighted Pakistan’s homegrown defence capabilities, saying: “We are prepared; if anyone wishes to test us, they are more than welcome.”

AVM Ghazi, meanwhile, reminded the world that “we are now at eight-zero”, referring to the number of Indian aircraft shot down by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

According to him, the “confirmed kills” included four Rafales, one Su-30, one MiG-29, one Mirage 2000 and a multi-role unmanned aerial system.

“We recognise that this won’t be our last war, and our next war won’t be along similar lines,” he said, adding that the PAF was developing future warfare capabilities through 160 ongoing projects.

Strategic consequences

Lt Gen Chaudhry detailed a set of strategic consequences of Pakistan’s success in Marka-i-Haq, saying that India’s narrative of portraying Pakistan as a source of terrorism had “stood buried”.

Thanks to its success, Pakistan had become a “net security stabiliser”, while Indian politicians appeared more like “warmongers”, he said.

He pointed out that there was global acknowledgement of India’s efforts to externalise its internal problems and internalise its external problems, while using terrorism as a state tool, such as in occupied Kashmir.

He referred to the repression of minorities and Kashmiris in India, attributing it to a “false sense of entitlement and this hubristic attitude”.

He said the fifth consequence was the “exposure of the true face of the Indian media and its discredited information operations”. The sixth consequence related to the “transformed character of warfare”, which he said included multi-domain operations, non-contact warfare, synergy, proxies and information warfare.

The seventh consequence, he said, was Pakistan’s resilience in combating multifaceted challenges, while the eighth was the “loud and clear establishment of deterrence”. “Anyone who thinks there is space for war between two nuclear neighbours is crazy,” he added.

The DG ISPR said the ninth consequence was Pakistan’s recognition as a geopolitically significant and responsible middle power. He added that the last, but most important consequence, was the unshakeable synergy between the people, government and armed forces, “which we call the Bunyanum Marsoos effect”. During the subsequent Q&A, the DG ISPR attributed Pakistan’s success against India to

New Delhi’s “hubristic mindset”.

“Their [India’s] assessment of Pakistan is absolutely wrong,” he said. “Where did they get the idea of Akhand Bharat? Where did they get the idea that they will define the destiny of the people of this region? This is the problem, this sense of self-entitlement.”

He noted that India misconceived that it would defeat Pakistan by spending 10 times more on defence and that there was a rift between the armed forces and the public.

He also reiterated Pakistan’s position on Kashmir, quoting Field Marshal Asim Munir as saying: “Kashmir is and always will be Pakistan’s jugular vein.”

‘Terror surge’

Earlier, Lt Gen Chaudhry presented figures on counterterrorism efforts following Marka-i-Haq, noting that there had been a surge in terrorist attacks after the conflict.

He then linked this to Pakistan’s strikes on what he described as “terrorist support infrastructure in Afghanistan” in October, after which the number of attacks declined.

During the Q&A, he clarified that Operation Ghazab lil-Haq in Afg­hanistan was still underway.

Noting Pakistan’s role in mediating the US-Iran talks to end the Middle East War as a “rational state”, the DG ISPR said Afghanistan was not a rational player, nor does it behave like a state.

He also stressed the importance of the mutual defence pact between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, saying that Islamabad had been chosen to guard the two holiest sites in Islam.—Dawn Report

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2026