Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has dismissed Indian Air Force (IAF) claims that five Pakistani fighter jets and a large aircraft were destroyed during Operation Sindoor, insisting that “not a single Pakistani aircraft was hit or destroyed.”
His rebuttal came hours after IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said Indian forces had taken down “at least five fighters” and a large aircraft—possibly an Airborne Warning and Control (AWC) system—at a distance of about 300 kilometres, calling it “the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill.” Singh also said several drones, UAVs, and missiles from Pakistan fell into Indian territory during the operation.
In a social media post, Asif called the IAF’s assertions “as implausible as they are ill-timed,” claiming Pakistan had provided immediate, detailed technical briefings to the international media after the conflict. He accused India of making the claims belatedly to obscure “disproportionately heavier” Indian losses along the Line of Control.
“If the truth is in question, let both sides open their aircraft inventories to independent verification — though we suspect this would lay bare the reality India seeks to obscure,” Asif said, warning that any violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty would invite a “swift, surefire and proportionate response.”
Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 by India in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 civilians. The offensive targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The conflict ended on May 10 after four days of cross-border drone and missile strikes.
