ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has categorically rejected the recent claim by the Indian Air Force chief that six Pakistani fighter jets were shot down, calling it “belated, ill-timed, and unbelievable.”
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Asif said India’s military leadership was being used to mask the strategic failures of its political establishment.
“For three months, no such statement was made. Now, suddenly, this fabricated narrative is being floated,” he remarked.
The minister recalled that Pakistan had provided detailed technical briefings to the international media immediately after the May 2025 skirmish, with independent observers verifying India’s losses.
He said Pakistan had destroyed six Indian fighter jets, S-400 defence batteries, and drones, while India failed to shoot down a single Pakistani aircraft. Asif added that Pakistani forces had swiftly neutralized Indian airbases and inflicted heavy human and material losses along the Line of Control (LoC).
He suggested that both countries submit their aircraft records for independent verification, stressing that such an audit would reveal India’s actual losses.
“Wars are won through moral superiority, national resolve, and professional skill—not lies,” he stated, warning that India’s “fabricated and absurd claims” for political gain could lead to dangerous strategic miscalculations in a nuclear-armed region.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to a “swift, robust, and effective response” to any aggression, as demonstrated during Operation Swift Retort (Baniyan Marsoos), Asif warned that any violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty would bring full accountability upon India’s “strategically blind leadership.”
