Chinese Expert Dismisses IAF Chief’s Claim of Downing Pak Jets

News Desk

Islamabad: A senior Chinese defence analyst has rejected as baseless recent remarks by India’s Air Force Chief claiming that five Pakistani fighter jets and one large aircraft were shot down during clashes in early May.

Senior Research Fellow at the Charhar Institute, Prof Cheng Xizhong, on Sunday described Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh’s statement as “groundless” and “self-amusement,” arguing that it lacked credible evidence and had been widely questioned by the international community. According to Prof Cheng, “everything should be based on sufficient evidence,” yet the Indian side had failed to provide any proof such as photographs of wreckage, radar monitoring data, or other verifiable records.

He noted that, in contrast, Pakistan had previously presented extensive evidence of shooting down Indian fighter jets during the same confrontation.

“Now, more than three months have passed since the India-Pakistan clash ended, and India has still not produced any evidence to support its claim,” he said.

“On the contrary, the Pakistani side immediately provided a detailed technical report to the international media after the clash.”

Prof Cheng also pointed out that confirmations from world leaders, senior Indian politicians, and foreign intelligence assessments had indicated India suffered significant losses, including multiple aircraft.

“It is thus evident that no Pakistani fighter jet was hit or destroyed by the Indian side. On the contrary, Pakistan shot down six Indian fighter jets and destroyed S-400 air defence positions, among other achievements—an indisputable fact,” he asserted.

His remarks came in response to Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh’s statement made on Saturday in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru.

Addressing an audience of serving air force officers, veterans, and government and industry officials, Singh claimed India had downed the Pakistani aircraft during “Operation Sindoor,” its largest military clash with Pakistan in decades.

Singh said most of the Pakistani aircraft were destroyed by India’s Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system, citing electronic tracking data as confirmation.

“We have at least five fighters confirmed killed, and one large aircraft,” he said, suggesting the larger target could have been a surveillance plane shot down at a distance of 300 km (186 miles). “This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill,” he added, prompting applause from the audience.

While Singh did not identify the types of Pakistani fighter jets allegedly downed, he claimed Indian airstrikes also hit another surveillance aircraft and “a few F-16” fighters parked in hangars at two air bases in southeastern Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif swiftly rejected Singh’s statement, calling it “completely false” and asserting that “India did not hit or destroy a single Pakistani aircraft.”

The conflicting accounts have added to ongoing tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours, with neither side showing signs of backing down from their version of events.

Input from APP.