Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday flatly denied that any of the country’s military aircraft had been hit or destroyed by Indian armed forces during Operation Sindoor, countering a detailed disclosure earlier in the day by Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh.
“Not a single Pakistani aircraft was hit or destroyed by (the) Indian (side),” Asif wrote on social media, adding that for three months “no such claims were voiced” while Pakistan had, in the immediate aftermath, presented “detailed technical briefings to the international media”.
He described the IAF chief’s remarks as “implausible” and “ill-timed”, alleging that India’s own losses along the Line of Control were “disproportionately heavier”.
Challenging India’s account, Asif suggested that both countries open their aircraft inventories to independent verification, which he said would “lay bare the reality India seeks to obscure”.
He warned that any violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity would draw a “swift, surefire and proportionate response.”
His comments followed Air Chief Marshal Singh’s address at the Air Chief Marshal LM Katre lecture in Bengaluru, where he said Indian forces had downed five Pakistani fighter jets and one large airborne surveillance aircraft during Operation Sindoor – launched on May 7 in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
Singh described it as “the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about”.
The IAF chief said Indian strikes also inflicted significant damage on Pakistan’s air assets and infrastructure. He detailed how US-made F-16 jets parked at Jacobabad airbase were hit, with “one half of the F-16 hangar gone” and aircraft inside “surely damaged”.
At least one AEW&C aircraft and several F-16s under maintenance were affected, alongside two command and control centres at Murid and Chaklala and six radars.
According to Singh, the pounding of multiple airbases – some yet to be operational – forced Pakistan to seek a ceasefire after three days of intense hostilities.
He credited the Russian-made S-400 Triumf air defence system for keeping Pakistani aircraft at bay, preventing them from deploying long-range glide bombs.
Singh also shared before-and-after satellite imagery of nine terror launchpads targeted on May 7, insisting the strikes caused no collateral damage, contrary to Islamabad’s claims. He said around 100 terrorists were killed in those operations.
The four-day conflict concluded on May 10, when India and Pakistan reached an understanding to halt the cross-border drone and missile strikes.
– Ends
Tune In