Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, unequivocally dismissed recent Indian military claims that Pakistan received real-time support from China during the intense four-day conflict in May 2025.

Speaking at the National Defence University in Islamabad on July 7, Munir described the accusations as “factually incorrect” and a “shoddy attempt” to deflect from what he characterised as India’s battlefield shortcomings.

The conflict, which erupted between May 7 and May 10, 2025, marked the most severe military confrontation between India and Pakistan in decades. Triggered by a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir in April—an incident New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, though Pakistan denied involvement—the clash saw both nations employ drones, missiles, and artillery fire. The hostilities culminated in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire after four days of intense fighting.

India’s Operation Sindoor: India launched air and missile strikes targeting what it described as terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Pakistan’s Operation Bunyan Al Marsoos: Pakistan responded with its own military operation, claiming to target Indian military and infrastructure sites in retaliation for Indian strikes on civilian and military targets.

Last week, Indian Army Deputy Chief Lt. Gen. Rahul Singh alleged at a defence forum in New Delhi that China had provided Pakistan with “live inputs” about key Indian military positions during the conflict. However, Singh did not provide detailed evidence to substantiate this claim. In response, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, in an earlier interview, also denied any direct Chinese military involvement during the conflict.

Munir, in his address, firmly rejected these allegations, stating:

“Insinuations regarding external support in Pakistan’s successful Operation Bunyan Al Marsoos are irresponsible and factually incorrect. 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 further argued that such claims reflect a reluctance to acknowledge Pakistan’s indigenous military capabilities and institutional resilience, which he said have been developed over decades of strategic prudence.

Munir asserted that India’s inability to achieve its stated military objectives during Operation Sindoor exposed significant shortcomings in its planning and operational readiness. He described India’s attempts to rationalise the outcome through “convoluted logic” as indicative of a lack of strategic foresight.

The Pakistani army chief also issued a stern warning regarding future hostilities, emphasising Pakistan’s readiness to respond forcefully to any aggression:

“Any attempt to target our population centres, military bases, economic hubs and ports will instantly invoke a ‘deeply hurting and more than reciprocal response.’ The onus of escalation will squarely lie on the strategically blind, arrogant aggressor.”

Following the four-day conflict, both sides agreed to a ceasefire after intervention by the United States. The situation has since stabilised, with commercial flights and normalcy gradually returning to both countries. The Indian government and military have yet to officially respond to Munir’s remarks.

The May 2025 conflict between India and Pakistan has reignited longstanding tensions, with both sides trading blame for the escalation and outcomes. While Indian officials allege Chinese involvement, Pakistan’s military leadership has categorically denied any external assistance, framing the allegations as an attempt to mask India’s operational failures. The episode underscores the volatility of South Asia’s security environment and the persistent risk of rapid escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Agencies