NEW DELHI: Pakistan army chief general Asim Munir on Monday rejected claims that Islamabad relied on external support during the recent four-day conflict with India, calling assertions "factually incorrect" and "irresponsible."
His response came days after Indian Army deputy chief Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh alleged that China provided active support to Pakistan during the operation, using the conflict as a “live lab” to test weapon systems, with Turkiye also supplying military equipment.
Speaking at the national defence university in Islamabad during a graduation ceremony, Munir said, “Insinuations regarding external support in Pakistan's successful Operation Bunyanum Marsoos are irresponsible and factually incorrect and reflect a chronic reluctance to acknowledge indigenous capability and institutional resilience developed over decades of strategic prudence.”
He criticised India for involving other countries into what he described as a "purely bilateral military conflagration."
“Naming other states as participants in the purely bilateral military conflagration is also a shoddy attempt at playing camp politics,” he said.
Munir warned that any future provocation would be met with full force. “Any misadventure or attempt to undermine Pakistan's sovereignty will be met with a swift, and resolute response without any constraints or inhibitions,” he said.
He further added, “Any attempt to target our population centres, military bases, economic hubs and ports will instantly invoke a deeply hurting and more than reciprocal response.”
Munir rejected claims that Pakistan had to plead for an end to the fighting, saying wars are not decided by media headlines or imported weapons.
“Wars are not won through media rhetoric, imported fancy hardware, or political sloganeering, but through faith, professional competence, operational clarity, institutional strength and national resolve,” he said.
Operation Sindoor was launched by India on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 civilians.
The operation targeted 9 terrorist infrastructure sites in areas controlled by Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (Pok).
The operation led to four days of intense military exchanges, ending on May 10 after both sides agreed to halt the hostilities.
'Pakistan was getting live inputs of our deployment from China': DGMO
Last week, deputy chief of army staff (capability development and sustenance), lieutenant general Rahul R Singh provided details on how China was helping Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
Speaking at the 'New Age Military Technologies' event organised by FICCI, the general said, "When the DGMO level talks were going on, Pakistan was getting live inputs of our deployment from China. So that is one place we really need to move fast and take appropriate action."
"When the DGMO level talks were going on, Pakistan actually was mentioning that we know that your such and such important, sort of vector is primed, and it is ready for action. I would request you to perhaps, you know, pull it back. So he was getting live inputs from China," Singh added.
Furthermore, the general explained how India was fighting three adversaries at the same time, naming Pakistan, China, and Turkey.
The general said, "We had one border and two adversaries, actually three. Pakistan was in the front. China was providing all possible support. 81% of the military hardware with Pakistan is Chinese... China is able to test its weapons against other weapons, so it's like a live lab available to them. Turkey also played an important role in providing the type of support it did; they gave Bayraktar. We saw numerous other drones also coming in during the war."
His response came days after Indian Army deputy chief Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh alleged that China provided active support to Pakistan during the operation, using the conflict as a “live lab” to test weapon systems, with Turkiye also supplying military equipment.
Speaking at the national defence university in Islamabad during a graduation ceremony, Munir said, “Insinuations regarding external support in Pakistan's successful Operation Bunyanum Marsoos are irresponsible and factually incorrect and reflect a chronic reluctance to acknowledge indigenous capability and institutional resilience developed over decades of strategic prudence.”
He criticised India for involving other countries into what he described as a "purely bilateral military conflagration."
“Naming other states as participants in the purely bilateral military conflagration is also a shoddy attempt at playing camp politics,” he said.
Munir warned that any future provocation would be met with full force. “Any misadventure or attempt to undermine Pakistan's sovereignty will be met with a swift, and resolute response without any constraints or inhibitions,” he said.
He further added, “Any attempt to target our population centres, military bases, economic hubs and ports will instantly invoke a deeply hurting and more than reciprocal response.”
Munir rejected claims that Pakistan had to plead for an end to the fighting, saying wars are not decided by media headlines or imported weapons.
“Wars are not won through media rhetoric, imported fancy hardware, or political sloganeering, but through faith, professional competence, operational clarity, institutional strength and national resolve,” he said.
Operation Sindoor was launched by India on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 civilians.
The operation targeted 9 terrorist infrastructure sites in areas controlled by Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (Pok).
The operation led to four days of intense military exchanges, ending on May 10 after both sides agreed to halt the hostilities.
'Pakistan was getting live inputs of our deployment from China': DGMO
Last week, deputy chief of army staff (capability development and sustenance), lieutenant general Rahul R Singh provided details on how China was helping Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
Speaking at the 'New Age Military Technologies' event organised by FICCI, the general said, "When the DGMO level talks were going on, Pakistan was getting live inputs of our deployment from China. So that is one place we really need to move fast and take appropriate action."
"When the DGMO level talks were going on, Pakistan actually was mentioning that we know that your such and such important, sort of vector is primed, and it is ready for action. I would request you to perhaps, you know, pull it back. So he was getting live inputs from China," Singh added.
Furthermore, the general explained how India was fighting three adversaries at the same time, naming Pakistan, China, and Turkey.
The general said, "We had one border and two adversaries, actually three. Pakistan was in the front. China was providing all possible support. 81% of the military hardware with Pakistan is Chinese... China is able to test its weapons against other weapons, so it's like a live lab available to them. Turkey also played an important role in providing the type of support it did; they gave Bayraktar. We saw numerous other drones also coming in during the war."
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