Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday said that Pakistan had become “extremely relevant” on the global stage after its performance during the military conflict against India in May.

The conflict between the two countries in May this year was sparked by an attack on tourists in India-occupied Kashmir, which New Delhi, without evidence, linked to Pakistan. Islamabad strongly denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigation.

New Delhi then launched deadly air strikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir on May 7. After tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases during the four-day escalation, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally reach a ceasefire. Both governments launched diplomatic blitzes after the conflict to take their stance on the ordeal to other countries.

Elaborating on Pakistan’s image and standing in the world in the conflict’s aftermath while speaking at a function, the information minister said, “In a very short span of time, we have become extremely relevant in our foreign policy. We have seen in the past two years, and especially after the May war, I think that has redefined who we are.”

He said the “turning point” after the Pahalgam incident was Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s open offer for an impartial and fair investigation because “we were often blamed for terror acts that were not our fault, and in fact, being the biggest victims of terrorism, there was a propaganda against Pakistan, blaming us for terrorism.”

The information minister said that “you can’t be a victim and an aggressor at the same time — it’s an oxymoron, an inherent contradiction, it’s just not possible.”

He said no other country could lay claim to the loss of 90,000 lives in th