Pakistan’s Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sindhu on Tuesday claimed, without offering proof, that his forces shot down “modern” Indian jets and a defence system during the May conflict with India. The remarks followed Indian Air Chief Marshal AP Singh’s October statement that at least a dozen Pakistani military aircraft, including US-origin F-16s and Chinese-origin JF-17s, were destroyed or damaged in Indian strikes during Operation Sindoor.
Addressing the passing out parade at the Pakistan Air Force Academy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindhu said Pakistani forces “shot down” India’s “most modern and capable aircraft — including multiple Rafales, Su-30MKIs, Mirage 2000s, MiG-29s and unmanned aerial systems,” but provided no evidence. He described the May clashes as a “fierce aerial engagement.”
Sindhu also asserted that Pakistani forces struck Indian “bases and ground assets” from “north to south” and neutralised “the state-of-the-art S-400 air defence system and command-and-control centres.” Pakistan has repeatedly claimed to have shot down Indian aircraft after the May hostilities, but such claims have not been substantiated.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. The strikes led to four days of intense clashes that concluded with an understanding to stop military actions on May 10.
