In a significant escalation of rhetoric, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Sunday issued a fiery response to aggressive statements from India’s top military and political brass, reasserting Pakistan’s unverified claim of a decisive aerial victory over the Indian Air Force (IAF) during Operation Sindoor in May.
Taking to the social media platform X, Mr. Asif reacted to the Indian Army Chief’s comments by threatening that if India attempts any future aggression, it “will be buried under the debris of its planes.”
A Score of 0-6: The Disputed Claim
The Pakistani Defence Minister’s post was a direct retort to warnings from New Delhi. He specifically referenced India’s Air Chief Marshal A. P. Singh’s recent assertion that India’s strikes had destroyed or damaged “at least a dozen” Pakistani military aircraft, including US-bought F-16 jets, during Operation Sindoor.
“The statements of the Indian military and political leadership are a failed attempt to restore their tarnished reputation,” Asif wrote. “After such a decisive defeat with a score of 0-6, if they try again, the score, God willing, will be far better than before.”
He then escalated the language further, claiming divine protection for Pakistan’s forces: “Pakistan is a state founded in the name of Allah. Our protectors are Allah’s soldiers. This time, India, God willing, will be buried in the debris of its own planes. Allahu Akbar.”
India’s Warnings and Counter-Claims
The new flare-up in rhetoric follows a series of hard-line warnings from the Indian side:
- Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Friday cautioned Pakistan, stating that it must cease sponsoring terrorism “if it wants to retain its place on the world map.” He also warned that the restraint shown by New Delhi during Operation Sindoor would not be repeated in any future military conflict.
- A day prior, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had stated that India “can cross any border whenever necessary” to protect itself.
- Meanwhile, Indian Air Chief Marshal A. P. Singh on Friday had reasserted India’s account of the May clashes, claiming that Pakistani jets were destroyed in Indian strikes launched in retaliation for the terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam. New Delhi has consistently dismissed Pakistan’s claims of downing six Indian jets. While India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has acknowledged the loss of an unspecified number of IAF jets, he outright rejected Pakistan’s inflated figures.
Pakistan Army’s ‘Cataclysmic Devastation’ Warning
In a parallel statement on Saturday, the Pakistan Army also responded fiercely to what it called India’s “delusional, provocative and jingoistic” words.
The Pakistan Army statement included a dire warning: “In the face of highly provocative statements of the Indian Defence Minister and its Army and Air Chiefs, we caution that a future conflict might lead to cataclysmic devastation. In case a fresh round of hostilities is triggered, Pakistan shall not hold back. We shall resolutely respond, without any qualms or restraint.”
The renewed exchange of threats underscores the dangerously low level of trust between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and the ongoing deep dispute over the outcomes of Operation Sindoor.