Addressing reporters in Islamabad on Thursday, ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry declared that Pakistan was “prepared,” and he emphasized the nation’s homegrown military capabilities with firm and clear language.
The press conference coincided with a sombre national commemoration marking the first anniversary of “Marka-i-Haq.” Flanked by senior officers — Rear Admiral Shifaat Ali, deputy chief of naval staff (operations), and Air Vice Marshal Tariq Ghazi, deputy chief of air staff (projects) — Lt Gen Chaudhry conveyed both resolve and calm.
The term “Marka-i-Haq” has been used by the state to describe last year’s confrontation with India, a confrontation that began with the April 22 Pahalgam attack and included Pakistan’s Operation Bunyanum Marsoos. A ceasefire on May 10 ended the military escalation and halted further open conflict.
Opening his briefing with a warm welcome, he told those present, “We welcome you to ISPR on this happy day,” and congratulated the nation on the first anniversary of Marka-i-Haq.
In a measured, proud tone he said the country’s armed forces had met the nation’s expectations, conducting effective multi-domain operations that overcame a numerically superior foe.
“We will not linger on past events today… instead, we will devote more time from May 2025 to May 2026,” he said, promising a detailed outline of the conflict’s “strategic consequences.”
He went on to say there were ten such consequences, the foremost being that the Indian narrative which had painted Pakistan as a source of terrorism had been decisively discredited.
He said an attempt had been made to portray, without evidence, that Pakistan had perpetrated terrorism in India — a narrative, he argued, woven from insinuation rather than fact. The claim, he said, was a contrived story offered with no supporting proof.
“It has been one year since the Pahalgam incident,” he continued, “yet the questions Pakistan raised remain unanswered.” He demanded, “Where is the evidence?” and dismissed the accusations with blunt contempt: “Nobody buys this … you are the biggest terrorist. Nobody listens to them, nobody believes them,” he said, underscoring the deep scepticism toward those charges.
He described the second consequence as the consolidation of Pakistan as the net security stabiliser in the region. He said “Marka-i-Haq” revealed who was controlling and dominating the escalation, asserting that India had escalated the conflict based on a lie. The DG ISPR went further, calling Pakistan and its leadership the “biggest ambassador of security in the region.”
Turning to the third strategic consequence of “Marka-i-Haq,” he warned of an alarming side-effect involving “our eastern neighbour, unfortunately”: the politicisation of Indian military leadership and the growing militarisation of Indian political leadership.
“This is what’s happening over there”, he said, adding that India’s military, which used to be professional, had “unfortunately been politicised”.
“You will come across several examples of this,” he added. “You heard their air chief marshal a few months after Marka-i-Haq … [saying] ‘I got to know today that even we downed some planes’ … That is politicisation of the military leadership … Why are you trying to make jokers out of your admirals, and generals and marshal? Don’t do that.”
On the other hand, the DG ISPR continued, “We have placed the facts as they are.”
Moreover, he said, Indian politicians appeared more like “warmongers”, going by their statements. The DG ISPR asserted that the politicisation of the military and militarisation of politics was “dangerous”.
Moving on to the fourth strategic consequence, he said it was the global acknowledgement of India’s efforts to externalise its internal problems and internalise its external problems while using terrorism as a state tool.
He said the fifth consequence was the “exposure of the true face of the Indian media and its discredited information operations”. The DG ISPR also noted that Indian authorities had started “shutting down Pakistani media” during Marka-i-Haq and this practice was still ongoing.
But that did not solve the problem, he said, adding that his advice to India was to speak the truth.
“That’s what Pakistan did … The only thing that can survive in today’s information domain is the truth. Tell people the truth. But somehow the Indians think they can work their [way] around lies. It doesn’t work anymore.”
He said the sixth consequence was the “transformed character of warfare”. Elaborating on this, he said this covered multi-domain operations, non-contact warfare, synergy, proxies and information.
The DG ISPR explained that warfare was not limited to borders anymore. “It’s [fought] on land, in the sea, in the air, in cyberspace … and in the minds. It’s cognitive as well.”
In reply to another question, DG ISPR said that the mutual defence pact between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia was of great importance, as Pakistan had been “chosen” to guard the two holiest sites in Islam.
“We were chosen to protect Harmain Shareefain (Masjid al-Haram in Makkah and Masjid-i-Nabawi in Madinah), and protecting Harmain Shareefain is intrinsically linked to Saudi Arabia’s national security,” he explained.
“Any threat to Saudi Arabia is a threat to us, and Saudi Arabia values Pakistan’s security. It’s mutual,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said, adding that the pact was a “manifestation” of decades-old Pakistan-Saudi ties across multiple domains.
“We will fulfil our duty and follow what we promised.”
Asked about “political-military diplomacy” in the region after the end of the Middle East war, DG ISPR highlighted that the military is a “component” and that “it is for the political leadership to decide”, referring the question to the Foreign Office.
DG ISPR, in response to a question about the status of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq in Afghanistan, stated that the operation is still ongoing.
“The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s press release talked about a time-specific temporary pause,” he said.
“Ghazab lil-Haq’s linkage is with the actions of the Afghan Taliban regime. We have got nothing against Afghanistan and especially the people of Afghanistan.”
Noting that Pakistan has been “the best of brothers” and hosts to Afghans, the military spokesperson said there was no better example of brotherhood and hospitality.
“Pakistan’s Ghazab lil-Haq is one part of the national response against terrorism,” he added.
Asked about whether Pakistan’s increased diplomatic standing can lead to a resolution of the Kashmir issue, the military spokesperson reiterated Pakistan’s constant stance on Kashmir.
“You have heard it from the field marshal [Asim Munir]: Kashmir is and always will be Pakistan’s jugular vein, and that the people of Kashmir have to decide their future, as per the UN Security Council resolution and as per the right of self [determination] granted to them, they have to decide on their future,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said.
“We believe that whenever the people of Kashmir make a choice, they will be absolutely clear, and that is Pakistan,” he added.
“The hearts of Kashmiris and Pakistanis beat as one.”
He noted that the world is recognising what is happening in India-occupied Kashmir, and that the salience of the Kashmir question rises as Pakistan’s stature increases.
“The fates of Pakistan and Kashmir are intertwined. Our intentions and thoughts on Kashmir will never change, nor will the Kashmiris’ intentions and thoughts about us. This is a journey which we need to complete; we have the same destination, which we will achieve through self-determination and values,” DG ISPR added.
He said Pakistan’s military and political leadership is working on the issue “day and night” to grant Kashmiris their rights through “diplomatic, political and legal means”.
“Pakistan doesn’t believe in what Indians are doing: repression, aggression and all sorts of nonsense which they have spread both inside and outside the region,” Lt Gen Chaudhry replied.
Towards the conclusion of the presser, DG ISPR reiterated that Pakistan, as a “net regional stabiliser”, had dominated and controlled escalation during the conflict with India.
“On the other hand, there is a player with a hubristic mindset whose political rhetoric and vested interests initiated this, generating politicisation, Hindutva-isation and media frenzy,” he said, noting that the armed forces were “part of a larger choreography being carried out at the state level”.
“Terrorism is India’s default setting. When they are beaten on the battlefield, they will return to terrorism. It’s in their nature,” he added.
Lt Gen Chaudhry said that, in the event of another Indian military operation, Pakistan could “show them the reality in a matter of minutes”.
“Nothing gives us more pleasure than putting their minds to rest,” he said in response to a question.
“[Operation] Sindoor 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 — do what you want. You’re most welcome. I don’t have a problem, nor do my brothers in the navy and air force, nor does any child of Pakistan.”
Air Vice Marshal Ghazi also addressed the presser. He said the national leadership decided on a direction, and subsequently, the tri-service plans were coordinated under the guidance of the field marshal.
He said that the PAF had to do two things immediately: a strong defensive air posture and implement the highest alert level. He said that PAF integrated its multi-domain assets in preparation and added that the Indian Air Force initially carried out aggressive deployments and tried to conceal critical systems.
He said that the enemy, however, was forced to recompose its force composition, revealing “what we had been looking for”.
Talking about the armed forces’ preparation, he said, “The enemy remained oblivious of our preparations”.
He said that the PAF’s defensive posture meant that “our aerial sovereignty was impregnable”.
Air Vice Marshal Ghazi also said that after India attacked, PAF’s defensive posture transformed into an offensive posture.
“The killers embedded into PAF’s packages started targeting their topline fighters,” he said, adding that “we are now at eight-zero”.
The air force official elaborated that during the air battle, Pakistan fought “aggressively, but responsibly”.
“In that intense BVR vs BVR (beyond visual range) fight, with multi-domain interplay, we were able to curtail the enemy and its capability to apply itself as a network and integrated force package,” he explained.
AVM Ghazi said the “confirmed kills” included four Rafales, one Su-30, one MiG-29, one Mirage 2000 and an “expensive multi-role unmanned aerial system”.
The senior PAF official noted that a number of aircraft were also damaged and some of them remained unrecoverable.
Rear Admiral Ali then addressed the press conference, saying that Marka-i-Haq was a “historic and memorable” conflict. He said that prior to the conflict, the “enemy prided itself on its naval capability”.
“Their navy used to consume a big share of their defence budget, there were claims of ‘Made in India’; they were self-proclaimed net security providers and there was the status of blue water navy,” he said.
He said, however, that the question remained as to why their naval force was unable to “muster the courage against Pakistan”.
He added that the Indian navy tried to deploy its vessels in the northern Arabian Sea during Marka-i-Haq.
“And the only purpose behind this move was to target our naval assets and inflict economic harm on us by disrupting our naval trade and waterways.
“But due to the effective strategy of the Pakistan Navy, [traffic] in all our waterways remained uninterrupted, our instalments remained protected and ports remained operational,” he added.
Rear Admiral Ali said the Pakistan Navy continued to surveil the enemy’s activity through its modern system during Marka-i-Haq.
“The Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) were prepared to destroy Indian aircraft carrier Vikrant,” he recalled, adding that, however, the Indian navy did not move beyond its sanctuaries.