Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday denied that any Pakistani military aircraft was shot down or destroyed during Operation Sindoor. He countered the statements made earlier in the day by Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, who provided details suggesting significant Pakistani aircraft losses during Operation Sindoor.
Taking to social media, Asif said: “Not a single Pakistani aircraft was hit or destroyed by (the) Indian (side),” emphasising that for three months following the operation, “no such claims were voiced.”
He further pointed out that Pakistan, in the immediate aftermath, had delivered “detailed technical briefings to the international media” to clarify its position.
In his remarks, Asif called the IAF chief’s statements “implausible” and “ill-timed,” and instead claimed that India’s own losses along the Line of Control were “disproportionately heavier.”
He then posed a challenge to India, proposing that both countries open their aircraft inventories for independent verification, which he believes would “lay bare the reality India seeks to obscure.”
The Pakistani Defence Minister also warned that any breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity would provoke a “swift, surefire and proportionate response.”
IAF Chief Says 6 Pak Jets Downed During Op Sindoor
Asif’s reaction followed Air Chief Marshal Singh’s address at the LM Katre lecture in Bengaluru, in which he announced that Indian forces had downed five Pakistani fighter jets and a large airborne surveillance aircraft during Operation Sindoor.
Singh described it as “the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about”. He further elaborated on the extent of damage inflicted by Indian forces, stating, “We have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT aircraft or an AEW &C aircraft, which was taken on at a distance of about 300 kilometres. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about.”
He detailed Indian attacks on various Pakistani military assets, including command centers, radars, missile systems, and aircraft hangars holding UAVs and F-16s.
“We were able to get at least two command and control centres, like Murid and Chaklala. At least six radars, some of them big, some of them small. Two SAGW systems that is in Lahore and Okara. We attacked three hangars. One was the Sukkur UAV hangar, the Bholari hangar and the Jacobabad F-16 hangar. We have an indication of at least one AEW&C in that AEW&C hangar and a few F-16s, which were under maintenance there,” he added.
In his address, Singh credited the Russian-made S-400 Triumf air defence system for the deterrence of Pakistani aircraft and the prevention of long-range glide bomb deployment against India.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
On May 10, India and Pakistan reached an understanding to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
