Former Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who is leading a team of Pakistan parliamentary delegation to the US to present his country's version of the recent military conflict with India made an exaggerated claim that Pakistan was in a position to shoot down as many as 20 Indian aircraft, but exercised restraint.
While addressing members of the overseas Pakistani community in New York, Bilawal, who earlier thanked China for the support it received from Beijing during the conflict, claimed that the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) had “20 Indian aircraft locked” and “could have dropped them.”
According to him, Pakistan acted “responsibly as a mature nuclear power.”
He said PAF restrained themselves and the military high command demonstrated their rationality and “targetted only six planes.”
“Our strikes into India only took place after India fired missile strikes into Pakistani territory,” he said and added that Pakistan acted only in self-defence.
He accused India of targetting civilian infrastructure, dams, places of worship and energy facilities and claimed that India decided to be “judge, jury and executioner” after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the terror attack, with India carrying out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7 under 'Operation Sindoor'.
