After Operation Sindoor, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif says 'India may strike again'

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said that India could try and carry out further strikes against Pakistan, reported India Today. The remarks came hours after Indian armed forced carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan, naming it Operation Sindoor.

"It is possible that they will again do something like that as they have lost everything last night. In order to recover it, they will again do something like this. We have targeted their military bases. We have targeted their ships. We will not take a second to pay them back," Asif was quoted as saying.

Earlier in the day, Asif said Islamabad is "trying to avoid" a full-fledged war. "There is a possibility of expansion of this conflict into a full-fledged war, which we are trying to avoid," Asif told CNN's Becky Anderson on Connect the World.

The attack early Wednesday was a "clear-cut violation, and an invitation to expand the conflict and maybe convert it into something much wider and much more dangerous for the region," he said. When asked what happens next, the minister said Pakistan "is prepared for an all-out war".

India launched Operation Sindoor early Wednesday, hitting nine terror targets in PoK and Punjab in retaliation for the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22 that killed 26 people.

The Pakistan Foreign Ministry described the Indian strikes as "unprovoked" and that the Indian military violated Pakistan's sovereignty using standoff weapons. The Pakistan army said at least 26 people were killed and 46 injured in these strikes.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his counterparts in several countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Officials said Doval told his counterparts that India has no intent to escalate tensions but is prepared to "retaliate resolutely" if Pakistan does so.