Pakistan Challenges India to Prove Operation Sindoor Claims

News Desk 

Islamabad: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday strongly rejected recent assertions by Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh that India downed multiple Pakistani aircraft during clashes in May, calling the claims “false, ridiculous, and far from the truth.”

In a statement posted on X, Asif described the remarks—made three months after the fighting in what India calls Operation Sindoor—as “implausible” and “ill-timed.” He accused Indian military leaders of being “faces of monumental failure caused by the strategic shortsightedness of Indian politicians.”

The minister insisted that “not a single Pakistani aircraft was hit or destroyed” during the May 7–10 confrontation. Instead, he claimed, Pakistan shot down six Indian jets, including Rafale fighters, along with S-400 air defence batteries and unmanned aircraft, while disabling several Indian airbases.

Call for independent verification

Asif challenged New Delhi to permit an independent audit of both countries’ aircraft inventories, asserting that such a review would reveal the truth. 

https://x.com/KhawajaMAsif/status/1954158521114886535

He said Pakistan had briefed international media in the immediate aftermath of the operation, supported by independent observers and foreign intelligence assessments, which he said confirmed Indian losses.

Warning against political narratives

The defence minister cautioned that “comical narratives” designed for political purposes could fuel dangerous miscalculations in nuclear-armed South Asia. He reiterated that Pakistan’s armed forces would respond “swiftly and proportionately” to any breach of sovereignty, citing the example of Operation Bunyanun Marsoos.

Indian claims

Earlier the same day, the IAF chief said India had shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one other military aircraft during the May clashes, which marked the most intense military confrontation between the neighbours in decades.

Speaking at an event in Bengaluru, Singh claimed most of the Pakistani aircraft were destroyed by India’s Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system, with electronic tracking data confirming the strikes. 

He also said a “large aircraft”—possibly a surveillance plane—was shot down at a range of 300 kilometres, calling it “the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill.”

Singh said Indian airstrikes also damaged another surveillance plane and “a few F-16” fighters parked in hangars at two airbases in southeastern Pakistan. He did not specify the types of fighter jets allegedly downed.

Pakistan’s military has consistently denied losing any aircraft in the incident, maintaining that the IAF’s claims are unfounded. Islamabad’s air force primarily operates Chinese-made jets and US-built F-16s.