Pakistan's defense minister: "There is no other option but to start a war with India"

Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that the country's relations with India have become so tense that there is no choice but to launch large-scale military operations.

"We have no other option but to fight. We have to give them a similar and decisive response," the minister said in an interview with one of Pakistan's national television channels.

When asked by a journalist how certain a war was, the defense minister firmly replied: "Of course, there is no other option but to fight. There is no doubt about it."

It should be recalled that on May 8, Pakistan and India conducted one of the largest and longest air battles in the history of modern aviation. 25 fighter jets participated in this battle, and this fierce air battle lasted more than an hour. Neither side violated its airspace, and the strikes were carried out from a distance of more than 160 kilometers.

A senior Pakistani security source told CNN that since 2019, both sides have been more cautious about each other's airspace. In 2019, an Indian MiG-21 fighter jet was shot down by Pakistan.

"Since then, neither side wants to be humiliated again," the source said.

In the current conflict, both countries have also fired long-range air-to-air missiles from within their own airspace. This shows how tense the situation is between the two countries and the high level of caution. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!