ISLAMABAD:
The chief military spokesperson has said Chinese weapon systems deployed during Pakistan’s four-day military conflict with India in May performed “exceptionally well”.
“Of course, lately, recent Chinese platforms, they [Chinese weapon systems] have demonstrated exceptionally well,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said in an interview with Bloomberg.
About two weeks after a militant attack in the Pahalgam area of occupied Kashmir, India launched a series of missile and drone attacks inside Pakistan, beginning from May 7.
However, hours after Pakistan’s retaliatory strikes on various targets in mainland India on May 10, New Delhi agreed to a ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump.
During the interview, which was held last week and published on Monday, Lt Gen Chaudhry emphasized that Pakistan is not engaged in any arms race with India and has never tried to conceal facts or figures.
He, however, reaffirmed the performance of the Pakistan Air Force and related platforms during the Marka-e-Haq — the four-day conflict with India, stating that India failed to shoot down any Pakistani aircraft in that engagement.
Lt General Chaudhry stated that the Pakistan Army’s development strategy has always been based on choosing effective and efficient platforms and incorporating indigenous Pakistani technology.
The ISPR chief made it clear that Pakistan remains open to acquiring all kinds of technology — whether domestically produced or sourced from the East or the West. “We are open to all sorts of technology,” he added.
A week earlier, Bloomberg had reported that US President Donald Trump had confirmed the downing of seven Indian aircraft. The same report also mentioned that during Marka-e-Haq, the Chinese-built J-10C fighter jet, operated by Pakistan, proved highly effective against multiple Indian aircraft, including Rafales.
Bloomberg further noted that in August, Pakistan had announced the induction of the Z-10ME attack helicopter into its arsenal. The report added that Pakistan, in addition to Chinese weapons, also operates US-made F-16 fighter jets.
