Director General ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry says people of Pakistan can never be deterred, coerced or bowed down by aggression and Indian hegemony.

In an interview with R T Arabic, he said India tried to deter us but it forgot that the people and armed forces of Pakistan can never be deterred.

He said the whole world has witnessed how Pakistani nation stood like Bunyan-um-Marsoos, an iron wall, in the wake of Indian aggression.           

The DG ISPR said Pakistanis are a serious people, their first priority is peace and the international community better understands the spirit of Pakistani nation.                  

The DG ISPR said the genesis of India-Pakistan tensions is the fact that India is the main sponsor and abettor of terrorism in the region, especially in Pakistan, whether it is Fitna al Khwarij or the terrorist groups operating in Balochistan.

He said instead of acknowledging and dealing with this fact, India hides behind its false narrative of terrorism and hubristically acts as a judge, jury and executioner.            

The DG ISPR said after Pahalgam incident, India blamed Pakistan without any evidence.         

He said Pakistan had a categorical stance and asked India to provide evidence to any neutral body for probe and we are ready to cooperate with it.  But instead of opting for that rational approach, India unilaterally decided to attack our mosques and innocent civilians including women and children.                                                                           

The DG ISPR said it was then that Pakistan retaliated, and that too in a very mature, measured, proportionate and just manner. On this, the DG ISPR highlighted that Pakistan only struck the military targets and not a single civilian infrastructure was targeted.

He said Pakistan's retribution was swift and brutal, and put sense in the adversary to dial down and face the reality.

To a question, the DG ISPR said following Pakistan's retaliation, the Indian Defence Ministry spokesperson requested for de-escalation, which was welcomed by Pakistan as a peace loving country and then the interlocutors and international players stepped in to broker a ceasefire.                                              

To another question, the DG ISPR said the armed forces performed the duty they are entrusted by the state and people of Pakistan, of defending the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity and they will continue to defend it at all costs.                             

The DG ISPR lauded the role of Pakistan's diplomatic corps and said they acted very finely and astutely, and engaged the international community in a remarkable manner.