Khawaja Asif rejects Indian air chief’s claim of downing six aircrafts

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja has categorically rejected Indian Air Chief Marshal AP Singh’s claim that India shot down six Pakistani aircrafts during clashes in May, saying, “Indian military officers are being used as the face of a monumental failure caused by political shortsightedness.”

According to Reuters, India’s air force chief claimed on Saturday that India shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one other military aircraft during the May dogfight – the first such statement by the country months after its worst military conflict in decades with its neighbour.

Most of the Pakistani aircraft were downed by India’s Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system, AP Singh said at an event in the southern city of Bengaluru. He cited electronic tracking data as confirmation of the strikes.

“We have at least five fighters confirmed killed, and one large aircraft,” he said, adding that the large aircraft, which could be a surveillance plane, was shot down at a distance of 300 km (186 miles).

“This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill,” he said.

‘No Pakistani aircraft was hit’

Rubbishing the Indian air chief’s claims, Khawaja Asif clarified in a statement posted to his official X account that “not a single Pakistani aircraft was hit or destroyed by Indian.”

“Pakistan destroyed 6 Indian jets, S400 air defence batteries and unmanned aircraft of India while swiftly putting several Indian airbases out of action.”

‘‘Implausible’ and ‘ill-timed’ assertions’

Khawaja Asif noted that it was the first such statement by India months after the India-Pakistan clashes.

“For three months, no such claims were voiced—while Pakistan, in the immediate aftermath, presented detailed technical briefings to the international media, and independent observers recorded widespread acknowledgment of the loss of multiple Indian aircraft, including Rafales, by sources ranging from world leaders, senior Indian politicians to foreign intelligence assessments.”

“The belated assertions made by the Indian Air Force Chief regarding alleged destruction of Pakistani aircraft during Operation Sindoor are as implausible as they are ill-timed. It is also ironic how senior Indian military officers are being used as the faces of monumental…

— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) August 9, 2025

He described the Indian air chiefs “belated assertions” as “implausible” and “ill-timed.”

The defence minister further said, “It is also ironic how senior Indian military officers are being used as the faces of monumental failure caused by strategic shortsightedness of Indian politicians.”

‘Indian losses were disproportionately heavier’

Asif said, “The losses on the Line of control for Indian armed forces were disproportionately heavier as well. 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.”

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“Wars are not won by falsehoods but by moral authority, national resolve and professional competence. Such comical narratives, crafted for domestic political expediency, increase the grave risks of strategic miscalculation in a nuclearised environment.”

The defence minister reiterated Pakistan’s unshakable resolve to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity from every external threat.

“As demonstrated during Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, every violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will invite swift, surefire and proportionate response, and responsibility for any ensuing escalation will rest entirely with strategically blind leaders who gamble with South Asia’s peace for fleeting political gains.”