Pakistan is ready to stop the military conflict with India if New Delhi also agrees to do so, said the defense minister of Pakistan, Khawaja Asif.

For the last two weeks, Pakistan has consistently stated that it will never take any hostile action against India. However, if Pakistan is attacked, it will respond. If India retreats, Pakistan will definitely stop this tension, Asif said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

In the early morning hours on Wednesday, India announced the launch of “Operation Sindoor” against “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan. It was a response to the attack on tourists by armed militants in Pahalgam town in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir on April 22. At that time, 26 people were killed and dozens were injured. The Resistance Front, an offshoot of the Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba Salafi jihadist militant organization, had claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, Pakistan considered the aforesaid Indian strikes an act of war. At least eight civilians were killed and 35 wounded in the Indian attack, Islamabad said.

In response, Pakistan carried out strikes “both from the air and from the ground” on military targets in India. Pakistan’s defense ministry announced the destruction of five Indian fighter jets, including two French-made Rafales.