“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,” Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said in a social media post. 

He went on to warn that, “Such comical narratives, crafted for domestic political gain, only raise the dangerous risk of strategic miscalculation in a nuclear environment,” as quoted by Al Jazeera.

Shortly after his remarks, Asif’s official account on X was blocked in India. Visitors now see the message, “@KhawajaMAsif has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand.” The move comes days after India blocked the Pakistan government’s official X account and banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels.

The Trigger: April 22 Pahalgam Attack

The backdrop to this war of words is a deadly escalation that began on April 22. That day, heavily armed terrorists attacked civilians in the Baisaran meadows near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, killing at least 26 people.

It was the deadliest attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were carried out by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT).

The Resistance Front (TRF), a Pakistan-backed proxy of LeT, claimed responsibility. The United States later designated TRF both a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), citing its role in the massacre.

Pakistan’s ally China condemned the killings and called for stronger regional cooperation against terrorism.

Over the following weeks, tensions escalated into cross-border strikes. On May 10, US President Donald Trump announced a truce, but the narrative battle was only beginning.

India’s Version Of Events

On August 9, three months after the clashes, Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh claimed the IAF had shot down six Pakistani aircraft, including five fighter jets, during four days of hostilities in May.

Speaking at the 16th Air Chief Marshal LM Katre Lecture in Bengaluru, he said, “We have five confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT or an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft, which was taken on at a distance of 300 kms. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about,” Singh said.

Praising the Russian-made S-400 system as a “game-changer,” Singh claimed Pakistan failed to penetrate India’s air defence shield.

“Our air defence systems did a wonderful job. The S-400 system, which we had recently bought, has been a game-changer. The range of that system has really kept their aircraft away from their weapons, like long-range glide bombs that they have. They have not been able to use any of those because they have not been able to penetrate the system,” he said.

Singh also alleged that Pakistan lost aircraft on the ground when the IAF struck hangars in Jacobabad and Bholari. He claimed that several US-made F-16s under maintenance were destroyed in Jacobabad, while in Bholari, an AEW&C aircraft may have been lost.

“We have indications that at least one AEW&C in its hangar, along with a few F-16s under maintenance, were destroyed,” Singh said.

Pakistan’s Counterclaim

Islamabad quickly rejected Singh’s account. “Not a single Pakistani aircraft was hit or destroyed by India,” Asif said, noting that for three months after the operation “no such claims were voiced.”

Pakistan has its own version of the May clashes. On the night of May 6–7, it claimed to have downed six Indian aircraft, including three French-made Rafales.

In late May, in an interview with Bloomberg, India’s Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Anil Chauhan acknowledged for the first time that some Indian aircraft were indeed lost. He did not reveal how many or what type.

In July, however, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval took a different tack. Speaking at the 62nd Convocation of IIT Madras, he challenged Pakistan and the foreign press to produce proof of any damage to Indian infrastructure during the clashes.

“Foreign media said Pakistan did this and that. Show me one photograph, one image, of damage to any Indian target, even a broken glass pane,” Doval said. “The images they circulated showed only 13 air bases in Pakistan before and after 10 May… whether in Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan, Chaklala… I’m just telling you what the foreign press showed based on those images. We are fully capable of causing damage to Pakistani air bases.”

Social Media Crossfire

Pakistan-based accounts and news outlets were quick to mock India’s claim of downing six PAF fighter jets.

Pak Spectrum, a local news outlet, posted on X: “India claims the IAF shot down 6 Pakistani planes – 90 days after the conflict ended. Only good for a laugh.”

Journalist Faraz Saeed joined in, writing: “Pakistan shot down 6 Indian planes in 1 hour during the war. India woke up after 90 days to claim it had downed 6 Pakistani planes after the war.”

Another user, @KASHIF2O, commented: “Three months later, India suddenly realises it shot down six Pakistani planes. Lie after lie under pressure from its people and opposition will only embarrass India further. Pakistan has already offered an impartial inventory count of aircraft from both sides.”

One post from @Silly_MID__ON took a jab at New Delhi: “After India’s claim of shooting down 6 Pakistani jets, Pakistan has opened its inventory for counting. Your turn, India – care to match?”

The fighting may have stopped in May, but the online war shows no sign of ending. Indian users are celebrating Singh’s remarks with pride, posting clips and memes aimed at Pakistan. Pakistanis are laughing it off as propaganda, recycling their own “we won” narratives.

Three months later, there’s still no concrete proof from either side… no photos, no videos, no independent verification. Right now, it’s less like a dogfight and more like a cricket match where both teams claim victory, but the scoreboard is blank. Until hard evidence surfaces, the truth remains stuck somewhere between the two versions.

Pakistan Military Unhappy?