Rawalpindi (Web Desk): Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary said that Pakistan can never be coerced and it will never bow down to Indian hegemony.
In an interview with Anadolu News Agency, he said the sooner India understands this, the better it will be for peace in the region and the world.
"The idea that Pakistan can be pressured into submission is a flawed one — the earlier India realises this, the more secure the region will be."
In a sharply worded message, the military spokesperson reinforced that while Pakistan seeks peace, it will not hesitate to respond if provoked.
"We are a country that prefers stability and harmony, but if pushed, our retaliation will be immediate and overwhelming," the DG ISPR asserted.
Touching upon recent developments, he reiterated Pakistan's rejection of any involvement in the attack on tourists in Indian-occupied Kashmir. "We have no connection to what happened in Pahalgam," he stated.
The incident has been used by New Delhi as justification for scrapping the Indus Waters Treaty, a decades-old agreement seen as a cornerstone of regional cooperation. India’s withdrawal, followed by aggressive military actions, has heightened tensions to alarming levels.
"India's actions have brought us to the edge once again," he remarked, referring to early May when Indian forces launched strikes that crossed not just the Line of Control but penetrated into Pakistan’s territory. "In response, we executed precise operations against 26 of their military positions. We had the capacity to escalate further but chose restraint for the sake of peace."
Lt Gen Chaudhry revealed previously undisclosed details from the brief but intense exchange. "Six of their aircraft were destroyed — including high-value assets like Rafales, a Mirage 2000, and their much-touted S-400 air defense system," he confirmed. "The Mirage was the sixth aircraft. We were focused solely on military targets."
His warning over India’s recent declaration to block water flows into Pakistan was especially stark.
"If anyone thinks they can choke off the water supply of over 240 million people, they are delusional," he said in a separate interview with Arab News.
"That would be a step too far — one that could plunge the region into a conflict with consequences that will span generations."
The gravity of the situation, he said, can’t be understated. "This isn’t a game of power projection. India must understand that it is not operating in a vacuum — it is not America, and we are not Afghanistan. Nor is it Israel, and we are certainly not Palestine. We will never be intimidated."
He also linked India’s internal troubles to its hardline domestic policies. "The growing tide of extremism in India is a direct outcome of its treatment of minorities. The suppression of Muslims and Sikhs is fueling internal instability that New Delhi cannot contain forever."
Reaffirming Pakistan’s long-standing stance on Kashmir, he said, "Jammu and Kashmir is not an internal matter for India — it's an internationally recognised dispute. A solution must come through dialogue, grounded in the aspirations of the Kashmiri people and aligned with the UN Charter."
Ending on a somber note, he cautioned that peace in South Asia would remain fragile unless both nations face the core issue with sincerity.
"Their approach to Kashmir has failed. Until India agrees to talk seriously, the potential for future conflict will never go away," the DG ISPR said.