Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations Major-General Babar Iftikhar on Thursday held a 'single-point agenda' press conference and said Pakistan gave India "a bloody nose and it is still hurting".
He said the presser was being conducted to "correct the record" and addressed the events of February 27, when Pakistan shot down two aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF), a day after the botched Balakot airstrikes.
“A statement was given yesterday which tried to distort the history of some issues related with national security,” said the military spokesperson. The statement Maj Gen Babar was referring to was given by PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq on the floor of the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Referring to the series of events which led to the rare aerial skirmish between the air forces of Pakistan and India, the military spokesperson said after the suicide attack on Indian troops in occupied Kashmir’s Pulwama area, “India showed aggression against Pakistan and violated all international laws on February 26, 2019, in which it was not only deafeated, but also humiliated around the world”.
He further said that the armed forces of Pakistan showed an alert and timely response and foiled the enemy plans. “Enemy aircraft that had come to bomb Pakistan escaped after dropping their payload on mountains in panic after the appearance of our Shaheens [PAF]".
“Not only did the whole world acknowledge Pakistan’s victory, but India put the onus of its defeat on non-availability of Rafale jets,” the major general stated.
He said the confusion amongst the Indian military was evident when it shot down its own aircraft. “Want to make it clear, for the purpose of correcting the history, that Pakistan first demonstrated its capability and resolve and the actions taken on Feb 27 were from the position of strength,” the DG ISPR maintained.