Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday strongly rejected claims by the Indian Air Force chief that India had shot down six Pakistani fighter jets during a conflict in May, calling the assertions “implausible” and “ill-timed.”
“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,” Asif said in a statement.
He added it was “ironic how senior Indian military officers are being used as the faces of monumental failure caused by the strategic shortsightedness of Indian politicians.”
“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
Asif noted that for three months after the conflict, no such claims were made. He said Pakistan had presented “detailed technical briefings” to the international media immediately after the incident, while independent observers acknowledged the loss of multiple Indian aircraft, including Rafales.
These acknowledgements, he said, came from “world leaders, senior Indian politicians to foreign intelligence assessments.”
This story is being developed…
