Islamabad: Shaken by India's decisive military operation against terror bases, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has issued a strong warning of retaliation.
India's precision strikes under Operation Sindoor targeted nine key terror infrastructure sites across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including locations tied to prominent masterminds Maulana Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed.
Addressing the nation following India's unprecedented action against terrorism, Sharif on Wednesday asserted Pakistan's intent to respond forcefully.
"Pakistan will take revenge. We will take this war to the end. My Pakistani people, for your safety, our army and our people – we will always be united. Pakistan is most affected by terrorism," he said.
Pakistan's National Security Committee earlier issued a statement saying the armed forces had been authorised to retaliate "at a time, place, and manner of its choosing" in response to India's strikes.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif suggested that tensions could ease if India reconsidered its military stance.
"If India is ready to back down, we will definitely wrap up this tension," Asif said.
Notably, in a recent interview with Sky News, Asif candidly acknowledged Pakistan's long-standing support for terror organisations, although he sought to deflect some responsibility by recalling the Cold War-era collaboration with the West in Afghanistan.
"We have been doing this dirty work for the US for the past three decades, including the West and the United Kingdom," Asif admitted, though no Western nation has backed attacks on India.
India launched Operation Sindoor in direct retaliation to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in 26 casualties, including a Nepali national. The Resistance Front, a known proxy of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the massacre.
On Wednesday, precision strikes executed by the Indian Army, Air Force, and Navy targeted six high-value locations deep within Pakistani territory. Among them was Masjid SubhanAllah in Bahawalpur’s Ahmedpur Sharqia, suspected to be a hideout of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar.
Additional targets included facilities in Muridke, reportedly serving as the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, as well as terror installations in Muzaffarabad, Kotli, and Bagh.
India has reiterated that Operation Sindoor was a “measured, calibrated and non-escalatory” mission, aimed solely at eliminating terror threats while ensuring no harm to civilian or military infrastructure.
(inputs from IANS)