Pakistan army chief rejects Indian claims of Chinese help in May conflict
The remarks came during an address by Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief, to graduating officers at the National Defense University in Islamabad.
Last week, Indian Army Deputy Chief Lt. Gen. Rahul Singh alleged at a defense forum in New Delhi that during the May fighting, China had provided Pakistan with 'live inputs' about key Indian military positions. Singh did not detail the evidence behind the claim.
In an interview with Arab News last month, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif denied any direct Chinese military involvement during the May 7-10 conflict.
'Insinuations regarding external support in Pakistan's successful Operation Bunyan Al Marsoos are irresponsible and factually incorrect,' Munir said, according to a statement from the military's media wing, referring to the name of the Pakistani military response to Indian attacks on May 10.
He described the allegations as reflecting 'a chronic reluctance to acknowledge indigenous capability and institutional resilience developed over decades of strategic prudence.'
'Naming other states as participants in the purely bilateral military conflagration is also a shoddy attempt at playing camp politics and desperately trying that India remains the beneficiary of larger geopolitical contestation as the so-called net security provider in a region which is getting increasingly weary of its hegemonic and extremist Hindutva ideology.'
Munir said India's failure to achieve its stated goals during the conflict highlighted shortcomings in planning and capability.
'India's inability to achieve its stated military objectives during Operation Sindoor, and the subsequent attempt to rationalize this shortfall through convoluted logic, speaks volumes about its lack of operational readiness and strategic foresight,' he said.
The Indian government and military have not yet responded to Munir's remarks.
Tensions between the two countries escalated after a deadly April 2025 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. New Delhi blamed Pakistan for the assault, which Islamabad denied.
In early May, the two sides engaged in a four-day war involving drones, missiles, and artillery fire — their worst clash in decades — before a ceasefire was brokered by the United States.
Pakistan said its armed forces launched Operation Bunyan Al Marsoos in response to Indian strikes on civilian and military infrastructure. India, for its part, claimed it had targeted militant camps and infrastructure inside Pakistan.
In his speech, Munir warned that any future misadventure would be met with a swift and forceful response.
'Any attempt to target our population centers, military bases, economic hubs and ports will instantly invoke a 'deeply hurting and more than reciprocal response,'' he said. 'The onus of escalation will squarely lie on the strategically blind, arrogant aggressor.'
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