Five Pakistani fighter jets, one aircraft taken down during Operation Sindoor: IAF Chief

The Hindu

2 days ago

The Indian Air Force (IAF) took down six Pakistan Air Force aircraft, including five fighter jets and one large aircraft, during Operation Sindoor in May, the Chief of Air Staff Marshal A.P. Singh said on Saturday (August 9, 2025).
Delivering the keynote address of the 16th Air Chief Marshal L.M. Katre Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru, Air Chief Marshal Singh said, 'We have at least five fighters (jets) confirmed killed and one large aircraft which could be an Electronics Intelligence (ELINT) aircraft or an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft which was taken out from a distance of about 300 km, which is the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about.'
This is the first time a senior officer of the Indian Armed Forces has officially confirmed bringing down Pakistan's air assets during Operation Sindoor.
The Shahbaz Jacobabad air field, one of Pakistan's major airfields, was also targeted by the IAF during the operation, he said, adding that there are indications that there was at least one AEW&C in one hangar and a few F-16's in another hangar which were hit during the attack.
'Apart from these [aircraft], there are a large number of [unmanned aerial vehicles] UAVs and drones, some of whose missiles had fallen in our territory; we have recovered them. A lot of wreckage has been recovered, which is being studied so we can make out what they did, where they were launched from, what route they followed, what kind of systems they had, what generation they belonged to, what kind of features they had, etc.,' the IAF Chief said.
He added that India's air defence systems had done a wonderful job, especially the Russian S-400 system which he described as a game-changer.
During his talk, Air Chief Marshal Singh also shared 'before and after' images of the damage caused by the Indian air attack on the Jaish-e-Mohammad's headquarters at Bahawalpur, and the Lashkar-e-Taiba's headquarters at Muedike, both in Pakistan.
He noted that, though the IAF had carried out similar attacks during Balakot airstrikes in 2019, it could not get images from inside the targeted buildings.
He added that one of the reasons for the success of Operation Sindoor was the political will and the free hand given to the armed forces to carry out the attack.
Following the remarks, the Congress party asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi why he stopped Operation Sindoor on May 10 and under whose pressure.
'In view of the new revelations made by the Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh today, it becomes all the more shocking why the PM suddenly stopped Operation Sindoor on the evening of May 10th,' Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. 'Where did the pressure on the PM come from and why did he capitulate so very soon?' he asked.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif claimed that no aircraft of the military was hit or destroyed by Indian armed forces. 'Not a single Pakistani aircraft was hit or destroyed by (the) Indian (side),' Asif claimed in a post on social media.
'For three months, no such claims were voiced - while Pakistan, in the immediate aftermath, presented detailed technical briefings to the international media...,' he added.
He said the belated assertions made by the Indian Air Force Chief regarding destruction of Pakistani aircraft during Operation Sindoor 'are as implausible as they are ill-timed.'
Asif claimed that the losses on the Line of Control for the 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,' he added.
R.G. Kar incident: Victim's parents allege police assault during march to Nabanna
Parents of the doctor who was raped and killed at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital a year ago, alleged assault by police during a march to Nabanna (State Secretariat) on Saturday (August 9, 2025).
The father and mother of the doctor reached Park Street area of Kolkata. They were accompanied by BJP leaders. The police resorted to baton charge to disperse the crowd near Park Street in the city.
The victim's mother said that police personnel hit her with batons and she suffered injuries on her hand. 'Police assaulted me. They also broke my bangles,' she said The father also said that he was attacked by the police.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari along with other BJP leaders participated in the protest march.
'They have attacked parents of the victim. This is people of the State versus Mamata,' Adhikari said. The BJP leader said that about 100 persons have sustained injuries in the attack and 18 persons had to be admitted in the hospital.
Thousands of protesters had descended on the streets of Kolkata on Saturday (August 9, 2025) on the call given by the parents to join march to Nabanna to mark one year of the gruesome crime. The protesters were seen carrying the tri-colour besides posters and banners demanding justice for the victim and the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Massive police deployments, along with RAF personnel and even water cannons, have been made at all the strategic points in Kolkata and Howrah where the progress of the agitators is to be halted.The parents of the R.G. Kar victim including BJP leaders remained camped on the streets at several strategic positions leading to the State Secretariat.
Uttarkashi floods: 287 more rescued as government deploys four choppers to evacuate people stranded
Four helicopters were pressed into service to airlift people stranded in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi following flash floods and landslips earlier this week which claimed multiple lives and left behind a trail of destruction.
On the fifth day of rescue operations on Saturday (August 9, 2025), 170 people were airlifted to ITBP's Matli helipad and 107 to the airstrip at Chinyalisaur, Uttarakhand Police said.
According to official data, more than 1,000 people have been evacuated so far from parts of the disaster-hit Dharali area which are still cut off following mudslide and flash floods on Tuesday (August 5, 2025).
The district administration has confirmed four deaths and 49 people are missing since the disaster.
Four helicopters of Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Authority are making sorties to rescue people who have taken shelter in various locations of the district.
The Indian Air Force's Chinook helicopter transporting a generator set to the relief camp took off from the Jollygrant airport on Saturday morning. Power supply to Dharali and surrounding areas was badly hit by the flash floods.
A Bailey bridge is being constructed at Limchigad near Gangnani on a war footing to improve road connectivity to the affected areas. Work on its construction went on overnight so that it is ready in the next 24 hours.
The Gangotri highway is either blocked or breached at several points hampering efforts to transport advanced equipment required to search for the missing through tonnes of debris lying on the flash flood-ravaged site.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced an immediate assistance of ₹5 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed and those who lost their homes in the disaster.
He also announced the formation of a three-member committee for rehabilitation, overall revival, and strengthening of sustainable livelihood of villagers affected by the disaster.
Chaired by Secretary (Revenue), the committee will submit its preliminary report to the government within a week.
It will prepare a blueprint of a long-term and effective policy for the future of Dharali village, so that the safety and livelihood of the local community can be ensured.
Inquiry by Law Department into alleged vote fraud, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday (August 9, 2025) that the Law Department will conduct an inquiry into the issue pertaining to the alleged ''vote fraud'' during the Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking to media persons at the Mysuru airport, Mr. Siddaramaiah said whatever action is possible will be initiated based on the recommendations of the department. He was responding to the media query on Rahul Gandhi's suggestion that the government should act on ''vote fraud''.
Mr. Gandhi had alleged that 1,00,250 'fake votes' were created in Mahadevapura to ensure a BJP win in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In response to a question on whether the issue could be examined in its entirety before the BBMP elections, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the Advocate General will be instructed to conduct the inquiry quickly and submit a report.
On BJP's allegation that the Congress was belatedly raising the issue of the alleged vote fraud, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the internal survey of the Congress indicated that the party would win 16 seats but could win only 9 seats.
'Now, Rahul Gandhi has referred to the official records and presented the details with evidence and all this information is available with the State and the Central Election Commission. We came to know of the irregularities only after studying the matter,' said Mr. Siddaramaiah, and questioned how 80 persons could live in a single room.
In response to a question of whether the judiciary should suo motu intervene in a vote fraud case, the CM did not make a direct reply but said that the Congress has been stating for a long time that elections were being manipulated and so were the voters list and the EVMs. 'What Rahul Gandhi has presented before the media is true,' he added.
Resign from Lok Sabha if you have no faith in Election Commission of India: BJP to Rahul Gandhi
The BJP on Saturday (August 9, 2025) said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi must resign on 'moral grounds' from the membership of the Lok Sabha if he does not have faith in the Election Commission, and flayed him for not submitting a written declaration on his 'vote theft' claim.
BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia also asked Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to resign as members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha if they do not have any faith in the polls.
'You (Rahul Gandhi) make baseless allegations before the media and then refuse to give proof and a written declaration when the constitutional body asks for it,' Bhatia said at a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.
Reading out excerpts of a past Supreme Court judgement, the BJP spokesperson said the apex court had observed that there was no doubt about the bona fides of the Election Commission and that it was a matter of record that the poll body had built a reputation as an impartial body over the years.
'Rahul Gandhi, if you don't trust the election commission and the observations made by the Supreme Court, do one thing: first, you resign from the Lok Sabha membership. Priyanka Gandhi, you also resign. Sonia Gandhi, you also resign at least on moral grounds because you are raising questions on the same Election Commission,' Bhatia said.
'Then, you go to the Supreme Court, the High Court and people,' he said.
Bhatia also demanded that the Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh must also resign, for their top leaders had no faith in the ECI.
'Whatever suits you, you accept. Whatever is inconvenient, you reject and cast aspersions on the Election Commission. This will not work,' Bhatia said.
Gandhi on Friday (August 8, 2025) asserted that he had taken the oath inside Parliament on the Constitution, as a response to the ECI demanding from him an affidavit under oath over his 'vote chori' claim.
Addressing the Vote Adhikar Rally in Bengaluru, he also said the Karnataka government should probe the inclusion of fake voters in the State during the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
'The ECI asks me to file an affidavit and give information under oath. I have taken oath inside Parliament, in front of the Constitution, on the Constitution,' he said.
Bhatia termed Gandhi's 'vote theft' claim a lie: ''Rahul aka 'arajak tatva' (anarchic element) has now become Rahul aka 'vidhwansak' (destroyer). He wants to destroy the Constitution of India and Indian democracy.'
He also accused the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha of being 'immature' and starting a war against constitutional institutions by threatening ECI officials.
Religious content in Hindi alphabet charts at school sparks row; probe ordered
A controversy erupted in Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district after the principal of a convent school allegedly distributed alphabet charts with Islamic references, prompting the education department to launch an inquiry, officials said on Saturday (August 9, 2025).
They said Baby Convent School principal I.A. Qureshi allegedly handed Hindi alphabet charts mentioning 'Ka' for Kaba, 'Ma' for Masjid and 'Na' for Namaz to students.
Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad staged a protest on Friday (August 8, 2025) and gheraoed Qureshi.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Pratibha Sharma said police personnel brought the situation under control.
'The matter is related to the education department and referred to the district education officer (DEO),' Sharma said.
DEO D.D. Rajak said an investigation is being conducted into the allegations. 'As per the Education department's guidelines, study material containing religious symbols of any particular faith cannot be taught in schools,' he added.
Principal Qureshi admitted her 'inadvertent' mistake, stating that one or two such books with mixed Urdu-Hindi multiplication tables had reached students.
She claimed the charts of alphabets were sourced from Bhopal and, due to the seller's error, three to four such items, generally used in madrasas, were included.
In Brief:
Sri Lankan Navy arrests seven Indian fishermen from Rameswaram
The Sri Lankan Navy on Saturday (August 9, 2025) arrested seven Indian fishermen from Rameswaram on charges of poaching in international waters. According to sources, a mechanised boat owned by D. Irudhaya Dickson, with seven fishermen on board, ventured into the sea from the Rameswaram jetty on Saturday (August 9, 2025) morning. On charges of crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), a Sri Lankan Navy patrol boat stopped them for questioning. Subsequently, they arrested the seven fishermen, who have been identified as A. Dullas, 56, L. Silaidan, 26, J. Arul Robert, 53, S. Loilan, 45, K. Arockiya Sanrin, 20, A. Baskar, 45, and R. Jesu Rajan, 32, from Thangachimadam. Their boat was detained.
India welcomes meeting between U.S. and Russia in Alaska on August 15
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday (August 9, 2025) said India welcomed the understanding reached between the United States and Russia for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska on August 15, 2025. 'This meeting holds the promise of bringing to an end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and opening up the prospects for peace,' Ministry's official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. The Ministry said, 'Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said on several occasions, 'This is not an era of war'. India, therefore, endorses the upcoming Summit meeting and stands ready to support these efforts.'
Blast at Hezbollah site in Lebanon kills 6 soldiers
Lebanon's Army said a blast at a weapons depot near the Israeli border on Saturday (August 9, 2025) killed six soldiers as a military source said troops were removing munitions from a Hezbollah facility. An Army statement gave a preliminary toll of six soldiers killed and others wounded 'while an Army unit was inspecting a weapons depot and dismantling its contents in Wadi Zibqin', in the Tyre district near the Israeli border. A military source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media, told AFP the blast took place 'inside a Hezbollah military facility'.