Ratcheting up the war of words with New Delhi, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday warned India that any future conflict would see it “buried under the wreckage of its warplanes”. His remarks were a direct response to the sharp warnings issued by India’s top political and military leadership in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.
The statement followed Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi’s declaration that Pakistan risked being erased from the world map if it persisted with sponsoring terrorism. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had also asserted that India would cross borders whenever necessary to safeguard its citizens and territorial integrity.
Asif, posting on social media, described the Indian leadership’s warnings as a “failed attempt” to salvage its credibility. “The statements of the Indian military and political leadership are a failed attempt to restore their tarnished reputation. After such a decisive defeat with a score of 0-6, if they try again, the score, God willing, will be far better than before,” he wrote, though he offered no explanation for the reference to “0-6”.
On Friday, General Dwivedi made clear that the restraint exercised during Operation Sindoor would not be repeated if conflict flared again. “India, as a country, is fully prepared this time. And this time, it will not show the restraint that it showed during Operation Sindoor 1.0. This time we will take a step forward and act in a manner that will make Pakistan think whether it wants to remain on the world map or not,” he said.
Also read: Pakistan accuses India of escalating tensions in the region
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, describing the aerial strikes carried out in May, claimed at least a dozen Pakistani military aircraft, including US-made F-16 fighters, had been destroyed or crippled. He said intelligence suggested significant damage to radars, command centres, runways, and hangars across multiple bases. Islamabad’s version of Indian losses, Singh added, amounted to “fanciful stories”.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had reminded Pakistan of India’s past responses, the 2016 surgical strike, the 2019 Balakot airstrike, and the latest Operation Sindoor, as evidence that New Delhi would act decisively whenever provoked. A day earlier, he had warned that any Pakistani misadventure in the Sir Creek sector could trigger a “decisive response” strong enough to change “history and geography”.
Sir Creek, a 96-km estuary in the Rann of Kutch, remains a disputed stretch of coastline due to competing maritime claims. It has long been a flashpoint in Indo-Pak tensions.
Operation Sindoor was launched by India on May 7 in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. The strikes targeted terror camps and military infrastructure across the border, sparking four days of exchanges before both sides halted operations on May 10. India has since maintained that Pakistan pleaded for the cessation of hostilities once its positions were severely pounded.
With both sides now locked in rhetorical escalation, the shadow of renewed confrontation looms large over the subcontinent.
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