By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military on Tuesday dismissed recent Indian claims of inflicting heavy casualties and destroying air assets during a brief but intense border conflict in May, labelling the assertions as “delusional, fabricated and provocative propaganda” designed to reshape history through “outlandish, Bollywood-style scripts.”
The rebuttal from the Inter-Services Public Relations office intensified a fresh round of verbal sparring between the nuclear-armed rivals, coming just a day after a top Indian army officer detailed what New Delhi portrayed as a decisive operation against terrorist infrastructure. The exchange revives tensions over the four-day clash that alarmed the international community and ended in a ceasefire brokered with US assistance.
In a statement at a United Nations conclave in New Delhi on Monday, Indian Army Director General of Military Operations Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai said India’s Operation Sindoor, launched May 7 in retaliation for a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, that killed 26 people, had neutralised more than 100 terrorists in initial strikes. He added that subsequent clashes along the Line of Control resulted in over 100 Pakistani soldiers killed, citing posthumous awards listed by Pakistan’s military in August as evidence.
Ghai also described damage to 11 Pakistani air bases, including eight bases, three hangars and four radars, with several aircraft destroyed on the ground, such as one C-130 transport plane, an airborne early warning aircraft and four to five fighter jets. The Indian officer emphasised that the navy had deployed into the Arabian Sea and was poised for action, warning that continued hostilities “could have been catastrophic” for Pakistan.
He credited India’s air defences with thwarting Pakistani drone incursions and said the conflict ended after 88 hours when Pakistan sought a cessation of hostilities. Ghai framed the operation as a doctrinal shift in India’s anti-terror strategy, achieving its aims without unnecessary escalation.
Pakistan’s military, referring to the episode as “Marka-e-Haq” or the Battle of Truth, swiftly rejected these accounts as politically motivated falsehoods timed ahead of state elections in Bihar and West Bengal. “It has been noted with grave concern that five months after Maarka e Haq, in the run up to elections in Bihar and West Bengal, Indian military leadership has started parroting the same delusional, fabricated and provocative propaganda that they regurgitate before every state elections in India,” the ISPR statement said.
“It is saddening to see the military leadership of a nuclear-armed country issuing irresponsible statements under immense political pressure,” it continued. “The lies being fed to the Indian public and international audience have turned the Indian military machine into a laughing stock. Any professional soldier would know that unnecessary chest thumping and unwarranted statements might initiate a cycle of jingoism and lead to serious consequences for peace and stability in South Asia.”
The ISPR highlighted contradictions in the Indian narrative, declaring them unworthy of a detailed response. “Evidently, the Indian leadership is attempting to mould history to its liking by inventing outlandish, Bollywood-style scripts. It appears that the Indian Army and the political leadership has not been able to reconcile with the idea that they have been decisively beaten in Marka-e-Haq, and that their falsehoods have been fully exposed.” the statement read.
The ISPR said “the world now recognises” India as the aggressor, asserting that the world now views it as “the true face of cross-border terrorism and the epicentre of regional instability, bent upon adventurism and hegemonism to the detriment of its people and its neighbours.”
The military affirmed its defensive posture: “The Indian Armed Forces and its political masters must realise that Pakistan’s people and its Armed Forces are fully capable and committed to defend every inch of our territory with full resolve. Every act of aggression will be dealt with a swift, resolute and intense response that will be remembered by posterity.”
Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, artillery and drones during the four-day conflict, killing dozens of people, before agreeing to a ceasefire. Pakistan has said it shot down six Indian fighter jets during the conflict, including the French-made Rafale. India has acknowledged some losses but denied losing six aircraft.
Ties between the countries, which have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, have been downgraded since the attack, with the impact being felt in areas ranging from trade and travel to sports.
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