During the recent Pakistan-India war, India maintained complete silence for 3 months over Pakistan's claim to have shot down 5 to 6 Indian fighter jets — no explanation, no denial — and during this time the international media, and even US President Donald Trump, appeared to come close to Pakistan's position. Pakistan not only thanked Donald Trump openly but also gave the world the message that American mediation had prevented the war from escalating on a wide scale.
It should also be remembered that, the day after the claim, Pakistan took an extraordinary step. The spokesmen of Pakistan's three armed forces held a press conference before the international media, at which all the evidence of the shooting down of the Indian jets was presented, including the debris of an Indian Rafale (French-made) aircraft and other material. As soon as the news emerged, the shares of the company that makes the Rafale fell in the global market, because the world received the message that Pakistan had shot down even India's modern Rafale jets.
Three Indian Rafale jets, one MiG-29 and one Su-30 were destroyed. India has finally admitted that its Rafale jets were destroyed; it is as clear as daylight, both on the ground and in the air. Everything can be seen in satellite images, so they had no choice but to accept it.… pic.twitter.com/WAkdXGO1zN
— The Thursday Times (@thursday_times) May 11, 2025
Pakistan's claim was held to be correct not only by international defence analysts but also by Indian experts themselves, among them names such as Praveen Sawhney. This is the same realism that emerged in 2019, when India claimed to have shot down a Pakistani F-16, but the claim was later proved false internationally.
Pakistan has shot down five to six Indian fighter jets, as multiple sources are confirming. If India's Chief of Defence Staff says that the number of aircraft downed is of no importance, then the question is: why is he unable to state that number clearly, and why is it being concealed?… pic.twitter.com/LnctKozQQq
— The Thursday Times (@thursday_times) June 11, 2025
Now, three months later, the sudden claim by the chief of the Indian Air Force that they shot down 6 Pakistani aircraft, including an American F-16, and that too without any proof, certainly raises questions. There are no photographs, no wreckage, no evidence. Why is this claim being made now?
Pakistan has shot down 5 aircraft, including 2 Indian Rafale jets. The Pakistan Air Force has defeated India in the air war.
American security analyst Christine Fairvia: The Wire pic.twitter.com/JU7v3JflZ0
— The Thursday Times (@thursday_times) May 15, 2025
A major reason for this is the current Indian political landscape. Relations between India and the United States are deteriorating rapidly, while US President Donald Trump has said about 33 times that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan. Pakistan openly thanked Donald Trump, but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi neither confirmed nor denied it. Donald Trump has recently raised tariffs on India to 50 per cent, which further highlights the tension between the two countries.
We brought an end to the ongoing tension between Pakistan and India and resolved a major dispute. Now we are going to make a big trade deal with Pakistan. US President Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/YmAy482rhk
— The Thursday Times (@thursday_times) May 21, 2025
مودی اندرونِ ملک بھی دباؤ کا شکار ہیں۔ اپوزیشن خصوصاً کانگریس اور راہول گاندھی آنے والے انتخابات اور انتخابی دھاندلی کے الزامات پر مودی کو گھیرے میں لیے ہوئے ہیں۔ ایسے وقت میں بھارتی فضائیہ کا یہ دعویٰ محض ایک فوجی بیان نہیں لگتا بلکہ میڈیا اور عوام کی توجہ اصل مسائل سے ہٹانے کی ایک کوشش دکھائی دیتا ہے۔ یہ ایک پرانی بھارتی حکمتِ عملی ہے — سرحد پر کشیدگی کو بڑھا چڑھا کر پیش کرو، قومی جذبات کو بھڑکاؤ اور یوں اندرونی ناکامیوں پر پردہ ڈال دو۔
بھارتی حکومت نے صرف تیس منٹ میں پاکستان کے آگے ہتھیار ڈال کر سرنڈر کردیا۔
کانگرس رہنما راہول گاندھی pic.twitter.com/Pgq1TnJmyj— The Thursday Times (@thursday_times) July 29, 2025
پاکستان کے مؤقف سے یہ بات واضح ہے کہ اگر بھارت کے پاس کوئی حقیقی ثبوت ہوتا تو وہ کب کا دنیا کے سامنے پیش کر چکا ہوتا لیکن جب 3 ماہ کی خاموشی کے بعد اچانک ایک دعویٰ کیا جائے اور اُس کے پیچھے ٹھوس شواہد نہ ہوں تو یہ زیادہ تر سیاسی بیان بازی محسوس ہوتی ہے۔ اِس کا مقصد بھارت کے عوام کو یہ باور کرانا ہے کہ حکومت کمزور نہیں بلکہ دشمن کے خلاف جارحانہ قدم اٹھا رہی ہے — چاہے حقیقت کچھ اور ہی کیوں نہ ہو۔
پاکستان کو اِس موقع پر اپنے مؤقف کو مضبوطی سے عالمی فورمز پر اجاگر کرنا چاہیے اور دنیا کو یہ دکھانا چاہیے کہ بھارت کے بیانات اکثر سیاسی مجبوریوں کا نتیجہ ہوتے ہیں — نہ کہ میدانِ جنگ کے حقائق کا۔ یہ وقت ہے کہ بھارت کی اِس پروپیگنڈا مشینری کو بےنقاب کیا جائے تاکہ دنیا اصل حقیقت سے واقف ہو۔
