Political leadership condemn cowardly act; DG ISPR says eight people slain, 35 injured; Trump calls India actions a “shame”; PM summons NSC meeting.

The Pakistan military has brought down three Indian jets in retaliation for late-night strikes by its neighbouring country launched after midnight at the sites of Kotli, Bahawalpur, Muridke, Bagh and Muzaffarabad, state media reported.

The military confrontation between Pakistan and India began roughly around 1am on Wednesday with the Indian air strikes when the neighbouring country launched “Operation Sindoor”. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed the downing of two Indian jets around 2:45am with a third confirmed around 3:42am. The military spokesperson provided an updated damage assessment of the scenario around 4am.

Tarar said that the response was ongoing but did not share operational details. “We shot down two Indian planes and we are responding to Indian aggression right now as we speak,” he told British broadcaster Sky News.

Chaudhry said in an interview on CNN: “I can confirm that two aircraft of Indian Air force have been taken down. The locations I have so far are around Bhatinda in India [Punjab] and Akhnoor [in occupied Kashmir].”

At 3:42am, state broadcaster PTV reported: “Pakistan Air Force shot down another Indian Rafale aircraft 17 nautical miles southwest of Awantipora. So far, Pakistan Air Force has shot down three fighter jets of the Indian Air Force.”

“Indian media, in a state of frenzy, is continuously running fabricated stories about losses of Pakistani Air Force and false claims of damaged aircraft,” the broadcaster added, stating, “No Pakistan Air Force aircraft has sustained any damage.”