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First Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
How religion, and not patriotism, motivates the Pakistan Army
The idea of patriotism never seems to have appealed to the Pakistani army, which grew up from the colonial past only to become an ideologically motivated force imagining itself as the legatee of the mediaeval Arab and Turkish armies read more Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR), Pakistan, recently stated during a press briefing in Rawalpindi that Islam was not just integral to the faith of individual soldiers but part of the army's overall training. It was a lacklustre event on May 11, which, despite being delayed by four hours, failed to produce any visual evidence to back up its tall claims and was therefore dismissed as a poor attempt to emulate India's DGMO Press Conference. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif's claim about Islam being part of Pakistan's Army's training is undoubtedly true. Late General Zia-ul-Haq, soon after he became the Chief of the Army Staff in 1976 — informs Shuja Nawaz (2008) — changed the motto of the army from Jinnah's 'Unity, Faith, and Discipline' to 'Iman, Taqwa, Jihad fi Sabilillah' (Faith, Obedience of God, and Struggle in the Path of Allah). Apart from encouraging commanders to join their troops in congregational prayers and elevating the regimental status of maulavis (though not with demur from old-type officers), he even allowed Tablighi Jamaat missionaries to preach at the Pakistani Military Academy (PMA) at Kakul, near Abbottabad in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Tablighi Jamaat preachers would deliver khutba (sermon) after Friday prayers at the PMA until 1984. In 1985, Major General Asif Nawaz prohibited their entry into the premises, stating that the place was a military academy, not a seminary (Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within, P.384-385). General Zia-ul-Haq also contributed the foreword to Brigadier SK Malik's book The Quranic Concept of War (1979). It was pithy but instructive, which might explain the current scenario. 'JEHAD FI-SABILILLAH is not an exclusive domain of the professional soldier, nor is it restricted to the application of military force alone… The professional soldier in a Muslim army, pursuing the goals of a military state, CANNOT become 'professional' if in all his activities he does not take on the 'colour of Allah'. The non-military citizen of a Muslim state must, likewise, be aware of the kind of soldier that his country must produce and the ONLY pattern of war that his country's armed forces may wage.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Recent evidence about the close union, the nearly complete fusion, of the constituted authority and terror network in Pakistan might appear to be a legacy of Zia-ul-Haq's policies. The visuals that have emerged from Pakistan, in the aftermath of India undertaking Operation Sindoor, are revealing. Corpses of slain terrorists were draped in the national flag of Pakistan during their last journey, with personnel of the Pakistani army and police giving them a ceremonial gun salute. A designated terrorist, Hafiz Abdur Rauf, led the Salat-ul-Janazah (funeral prayer) flanked by senior officers of the Pakistani Army. It is an ocular proof that the boundaries between the government and terror apparatus have been somewhat blurred in Pakistan. Even the fig leaf, which previously concealed this relation, has been dropped. How to deal with such a country, at a theoretical level, should constitute a challenge for the global community. Whereas India might be the immediate victim of Pakistan's terrorism, the threat has a wider canvas. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Pakistan's Army has two-fold origination — a) historical and b) ideological. Historically, the Pakistan Army, like its Indian counterpart, has its origin in the colonial Indian Army (or the British Indian Army). The ranks, formations, drills/manoeuvres, uniforms, badges, lifestyle/mode of recreation, etc, are a legacy of the colonial army. While this colonial army no doubt ensured the external security of India for almost two centuries, whereby notorious foreign aggressions were relegated to history, it was in no sense a national army. Not patriotism but colonial interests at home and abroad formed the motivating factor of this army. No wonder Indian battalions participated in the battles of World Wars I & II in foreign war theatres. 'As now constituted', — reads a pamphlet published by the All India Congress Committee, 'the armed forces under the Government of India are Indian in one sense only— in that their cost is borne by the people of India. In everything else they are either British or, at any rate, non-national, though an overwhelming proportion of their personnel is furnished by India' (Defence of India or Nationalisation of Indian Army, P.3). The author of the pamphlet was Nirad C Chaudhuri, who was literally an 'unknown Indian' at that time, before he became an internationally known scholar. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The transfer of power to the domains of India and Pakistan led to the formation of two sovereign armed forces. In a sovereign nation, patriotism must replace colonial interests as the driving force of the army. Interestingly, the Azad Hind Fauz (Indian National Army) led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had provided a model of a patriotic national army to Indians during World War II. The INA, which shunned racial/religious divides and formed its brigades named after national leaders, had drawn participation from Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians alike in Southeast Asia. The INA was path-breaking not just in Indian but also global contexts, which taught uniformed men and women to fight and die for the nation's independence. Love of the country was its motive force. It had directly or indirectly influenced the Indian Army as we know it today. Major Somnath Sharma, India's first Param Vir Chakra awardee, who laid down his life combating invasion on Kashmir less than three months after independence of India, was decisively fighting for his country's security and honour. Similarly, Brigadier Mohammed Usman, who died fighting Pakistani invaders at Nausera (July, 1948) and earned the nickname 'Nausera Ka Sher' (the Tiger of Nausera), upheld the validity of patriotism over religious trapping. It is this religion-neutral patriotism that forms the motive force of the Indian Army. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The partition of India, which accompanied the independence, led to the reorganisation of the armed forces in two dominions, viz, India and Pakistan. The Indian Army and Pakistan Army, despite their shared past, grew along different lines. India chose to have an apolitical and secular armed force where the religious or linguistic identity of a soldier was his/her private affair. The military is actuated by the principle of patriotism. The Indian Army follows an honour code –'Naam, Namak, Nishan', ie, a) name/honour of the unit/Army/Nation, b) loyalty to the nation and c) insignia flag of one's unit/regiment/army/nation. The esprit de corps, or the spirit of comradeship and brotherhood of the brave, transcends caste, creed, religion or language. The Indian Army has had Hindu, Zoroastrian, Christian and Sikh Chiefs of Army Staff (COAS) since independence. At least once a Muslim has been at the top post of the Indian Air Force. But never have they been categorised as such. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This would be unthinkable in Pakistan, which had not seen any Hindu commissioned officer after the 1950s. Late Major CR Dutt, who later joined Bangladesh Mukti Bahini, was one such officer. Simultaneously, there is an ideological source of origin of the Pakistan Army, viz, Islam. Whereas it might be true General Zia-ul-Haq heralded the Islamisation of the Pakistan Army in particular and of the nation in general during his presidency, throughout which he continued to be the COAS, there were other compulsions to underscore Islam in the pre-1971 period. The idea of patriotism never seems to have appealed to the Pakistani army. The only observation Major General Shaukat Riza could make about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in an official publication of the Pakistan Army was, 'The INA was headed by Subhas Chandra Bose, a former Congress President who was a rabid Hindu Brahmin' (The Pakistan Army 1947-1949, P.103). This observation was made in a chapter titled Indian National Army, though it was dealing with the Red Fort trial in particular. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose — not a Brahmin, anyway — was possibly the most secular nationalist. The chapter fails to explain why many Muslims, including General Shahnawaz Khan, General M Z Kiani, etc, fought in the Indian National Army alongside Hindus and Sikhs if Subhas Bose was 'rabid Brahmin'. This is because patriotism is a virtue alien to the Pakistan army. It fights on the zeal of Islam. Its army is merely a reflection of the Pakistani state, which was founded on religious rather than racial or territorial identity. Islam was the only glue that kept its western and eastern flanks of Pakistan together between 1947 and 1971. The eastern flank (today Bangladesh) was actually more populous than the western flank with its four provinces. Pakistan's army would like to imagine itself as the legatee of the Arab and Turkish armies of the mediaeval ages that carried the victorious banner of Islam through non-Islamic lands. Historically, this might be preposterous because Pakistanis, whether they were Punjabis, Sindhis, Balochs, Pathans, Hazaras or Bengalis (before 1971), were not remotely connected to the Arabs, Turks or Kurds. Their forefathers, if they had converted to Islam, converted mostly under coercion to avoid the humiliation of Jiziya, if not to escape the sword of Islam on their necks. The Muslims of Pakistan were actually themselves frontline victims of historical Islamist military aggression on India. Thus, truly speaking, the garrison state of Pakistan exists not so much on the map as much as in the minds of Pakistanis. During the 1965 War, when the Pakistan Army launched Operation 'GIBRALTAR' on August 7, 1965, to wrest Kashmir from India's control, the historical inspiration was obvious. It sought to recreate the valour of Tariq ibn Ziyad (670-718 AD), the commander of the Arab-Berber Muslim army, who invaded Spain from Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar. The Rock of Gibraltar is a Spanish derivative of the Arabic name Jabal-Tariq, or the mountain of Tariq. It was this conquest that brought Spain under Islam's control for the ensuing seven centuries. 'The Gibraltar force'—informs the then COAS of Pakistan, viz General Mohammad Musa (1983)—'consisted of approximately 7000 Mujahidin from 'Azad Kashmir'. Most of it was given some guerrilla training within a short time before it was launched' (My Version: India-Pakistan War, 1965, P.36). General Musa admits that the operation ended in a failure. This, however, proves that there was a definite connection between the Pakistan Army and Mujahidin (terrorists) even prior to Zia-ul-Haq's era. The names of the units in Operation Gibraltar were also revealing. Shuja Nawaz informs us that the units were named after historical Muslim military heroes, viz, Tariq (bin Ziad), (Mahmud) Ghaznavi, Salahuddin, (Mohammed bin) Qasim, and Khalid (bin Waleed). Only one unit was named Nusrat (meaning Victory) in honour of the wife of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Crossed Swords, P.206). The Pakistan Army uses a prayer, which is called Tariq's prayer in honour of the aforesaid Tariq ibn Ziyad. Its English translation, as available on the website of Pakistan's Army (though not accessible from India at present), reads, 'These Ghazis, these devoted souls of your lordship/whom you have blessed with the zeal of your worship/their legions overcame deserts and rivers/and trample mountain to dust with fervour/they care not for the world's pleasure/the love of the lord are their treasures/the mission and the aim of Momim is martyrdom/not the booty of war, nor crave for a kingdom'. This prayer proves that Pakistan's Army is not a normal national army, which, actuated by a sense of patriotism, defends the territory of a nation. It rather likes to imagine itself as the modern-day avatar of Islam's mediaeval army of conquest. In its quest it could co-opt mujahidin, an honourable term in Islam for the automatic weapon-wielding terrorists. Pakistan might like to celebrate the legacy of Islamic conquests. The question is whether such things have a place in the 21st-century world. The writer is author of the book 'The Microphone Men: How Orators Created a Modern India' (2019) and an independent researcher based in New Delhi. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
Business Recorder
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
India fueling regional tensions through terrorism, says DG ISPR
In an exclusive interview with RT Arabic, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), accused India of fueling regional tensions through 'sponsored terrorism' and deceptive propaganda, stressing that Pakistan's first priority was peace. The senior military official dissected recent escalations, revealing how Pakistan responded with precision strikes while India 'hid behind lies.' Sharif pointed to the Pahalgam incident, where Indian media and social platforms 'immediately blamed Pakistan' within minutes—only for India's Foreign Ministry to admit days later that investigations were still ongoing. President Zardari praises military's 'unshakable courage' in thwarting aggression during Gujranwala visit: ISPR 'Where is the wisdom in leveling accusations without evidence?' he questioned. Pakistan had offered to share any proof with a neutral body, but India rejected the proposal and instead launched unilateral strikes, targeting mosques and killing civilians, including children and the elderly. The DG ISPR asserted that India remains the 'real patron of terrorism in Pakistan,' whether through supporting Khawarij militants or Baloch insurgent groups. He reaffirmed the military's sacred duty to defend sovereignty, stating: 'We have fulfilled this responsibility at all costs and will continue to do so.' Sharif revealed that on the nights of May 6–7, India fired missiles into Pakistan, prompting the Pakistan Air Force to shoot down five enemy aircraft. 'The nation and armed forces stood united like an iron wall,' he said. When India attacked again on May 9–10, Pakistan responded with 'restraint and responsibility,' striking only military targets and avoiding civilian casualties—a 'measured, just, and balanced response.'
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Jihad is part of our military training and operations: Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army's spokesperson, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif, emphasized Islam's integral role in military training and operations, citing the army's motto and a recent operation's name as evidence. This statement, along with scrutiny over the spokesperson's family ties to extremist networks, has drawn attention. India responded by warning of appropriate retaliation for any violations of border peace agreements. Disclaimer Statement: This content is authored by a 3rd party. The views expressed here are that of the respective authors/ entities and do not represent the views of Economic Times (ET). ET does not guarantee, vouch for or endorse any of its contents nor is responsible for them in any manner whatsoever. Please take all steps necessary to ascertain that any information and content provided is correct, updated, and verified. ET hereby disclaims any and all warranties, express or implied, relating to the report and any content therein. More
Express Tribune
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
The night India wiped Pakistan off the map…in the newsroom!
Between the night of May 6 and 7, India believed it had nearly pulled it off — if only for a moment. After more than two weeks of drumming up war hysteria through its media, New Delhi was primed to deliver a dose of catharsis to its public over Pahalgam — an attack it blamed on Pakistan without offering a shred of evidence. With a title straight out of Bollywood, India launched 'Operation Sindoor' and fired missiles at multiple cities in Pakistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir. At least 31 civilians were martyred and many more injured. But India's naked aggression didn't go unanswered for long. Almost immediately, reports began surfacing that Pakistan had shot down several Indian warplanes. Come morning, the fog had begun to lift: Pakistan claimed to have downed five Indian Air Force jets — including three of its latest and most prized acquisitions, the French-made Rafale fighters. Indian authorities brushed the claims aside, even as photos and videos circulated widely on social media. They admitted only that three planes had crashed, offering no explanation as to whose they were or how it had happened, and moved swiftly to clear the wreckage. They would have gotten away with it too, they may believe. By the evening of Wednesday, May 7, a French official confirmed to CNN that at least one IAF Rafale had indeed been shot down by Pakistan, even as reports from other media outlets indicated that up to four Indian jets had gone down — three in Indian-administered Kashmir and at least one in Indian Punjab. Meanwhile, military analysts and online experts began piecing together footage and photographs to identify the downed aircraft and the likely systems that brought them down, further substantiating Pakistan's claims. On Thursday — as India sent swarms of drones over multiple major Pakistani cities, 25 of which were brought down — a US official, told Reuters on condition of anonymity, said there was high confidence that Pakistan had used Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles against Indian fighter jets, bringing down at least two. Another official confirmed that at least one of the downed Indian jets was a Rafale. Something about those back-to-back confirmations seemed to snap something in the psyche of the Modi government and its media minions. The past two weeks have already marked the most heightened tensions between the two nations in decades. But what unfolded last night crossed the border into the comically surreal. It began as innocuously as anything can in an atmosphere thick with information warfare. Following a news briefing by DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif — in which he stated that Pakistan had successfully shot down dozens of Israeli-made drones launched by India over multiple cities — several Indian social media accounts began circulating a deepfake video of him 'admitting' the loss of two Pakistan Air Force JF-17 fighter jets to Indian air defences. A video has surfaced featuring Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), claiming that two PAF JF-17 jets were downed by India. However, it appears to have been altered using AI. What's even more concerning is that… — OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) May 8, 2025 But while dubious handles peddling misinformation have long been a hallmark of cross-border conflict in the digital age, at least one Indian TV channel took it a step further and framed the doctored footage as an authentic statement from Pakistan chief military spokesperson. Building on that prelude, Indian media launched another salvo, claiming that Indian air defences had shot down a Pakistani F-16 over Indian airspace and captured its pilot. Blue-ticked Indian media personalities hyped up 'exclusives' that never materialized, while fringe accounts with little credibility circulated a hazy, underexposed image they swore showed the 'pilot' in custody. As both claims unravelled in the absence of evidence, reports emerged that India had imposed an Internet blackout in Indian-administered Kashmir, along with a sweeping ban on social media accounts seen as puncturing its narrative. The platform X announced India had ordered it to block over 8,000 accounts — orders it said it was reluctantly complying with, describing them as government-imposed 'censorship.' Meanwhile, India's defence ministry issued an advisory instructing media outlets and social media users to refrain from broadcasting live coverage of defence operations or the movement of security forces. Unconfirmed reports also suggested that Indian officials were directed to avoid interacting with Western media. With the echo chamber firmly sealed, Indian news channels went into overdrive with their Hindutva fantasies about Pakistan. Anchors and panellists on Times Now, in full nationalist ecstasy, declared that the Indian Army had stormed across the border and captured Lahore. Major Gaurav Arya — channeling the energy of a game show host rather than a defence analyst — pleaded on air for the Indian Navy to 'jump into the fray.' رات تو گذر گئی صبح ہو گئی کل رات بھارتی چینلز کہہ رہے تھے کہ انکی فوج پاکستان کے اندرگھس چکی ہے لیکن سب جھوٹ نکلا وہ تمام رات پاگلوں کی طرح چیختے رہے اور اسی لئے اب بھارتی عوام اپنے میڈیا سے تنگ آنے لگے ہیں — Hamid Mir حامد میر (@HamidMirPAK) May 9, 2025 If the Navy missed Gaurav's memo, Zee News certainly didn't. Its anchor breathlessly claimed that the Indian Navy had destroyed Karachi Port with 'over ten blasts,' announcing 'nothing was left' in Pakistan. 'Reports are coming in… there is a big explosion in Peshawar,' a panellist chimed in, as they painted a surreal picture of Pakistan being dismantled, city by city, under relentless Indian firepower. 'Their soldiers are deserting one by one… their generals are fleeing the country,' another added. Proof that India is going through a media-induced mass psychosis! — Ammar Ali Jan (@ammaralijan) May 8, 2025 Aaj Tak, as if trying to outdo Zee News, raised the stakes even further. Multiple blasts had reduced all of Peshawar to dust, the anchor declared. 'Terror-filled news is coming in from different cities of Pakistan,' she added, her voice rising over a background score of war sirens — as though she were narrating the trailer for an epic war movie, not presenting a news bulletin. Multiple blasts in Peshawar, entire city turned to dust. Aaj — Abdullah (@michaelscottfc) May 9, 2025 TV9 Bharatvarsh decided to go one better. 'Please add Quetta… Quetta to this!' exclaimed one anchor, sounding more like he was issuing a frantic plea than reading the news. 'In the area that is Quetta, the Baloch have attacked!' he declared, before marking out 'strategic points' where Indian forces had allegedly caused 'major destruction' on a glowing map behind him. According to Indian media, there is no Pakistani left alive — Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) May 8, 2025 Over on Republic World, Arnab Goswami claimed that a massive blast had been heard outside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's 'residence' as Indian forces turned their attention to Islamabad. Zee News, not to be outdone, reported that Pakistan's army chief, General Asim Munir, had been arrested in a coup — while the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was supposedly leading mass protests against PM Shehbaz. آرمی چیف عاصم منیر کو حراست میں لیا گیا ہے ہے۔ بھارتی میڈیا😂 — Muhammad Umair (@MohUmair87) May 8, 2025 Even Barkha Dutt — once a respected figure in Indian journalism — joined the frenzy. 'BREAKING … our Navy has targeted the Karachi Port — as part of the massive ongoing retaliation in response to Pakistan missiles and drones targeted at multiple locations in India including Jammu airport,' she posted on X, linking to her broadcast. She had earlier also shared posts about the supposed 'capture' of a Pakistani pilot. BREAKING @themojostory - our Navy has targeted the Karachi Port - as part of the massive ongoing retaliation in response to Pakistan missiles and drones targeted at multiple locations in India including Jammu airport, more details awaited - watch - — barkha dutt (@BDUTT) May 8, 2025 And so the night went on. But as the sun rose on a new news cycle Friday morning, it seemed that at least some of the Indian media — and those who had amplified its delusions — had sobered up from their high. Many tweets had vanished, quietly deleted by users who had either realised that Pakistan still existed, unscathed, or accepted the alternative: that Pakistanis possessed a superhuman ability to rebuild entire cities overnight or rewind time, like Doctor Strange. Some, like Aaj Tak, found the courage to issue an apology for a night spent peddling fake news, though not without attempting to shield themselves behind the convenient excuse of the "fog of war." Indian media apologised for the fake news and reporting last night. — Ihtisham Ul Haq (@iihtishamm) May 9, 2025 In 1991, French philosopher Jean Baudrillard — who famously coined the term 'hyperreality' to describe the collapse of the 'real' into media simulations — wrote a series of essays provocatively titled 'The Gulf War Did Not Take Place'. While he didn't mean to assert that bombs didn't fall or that people didn't die, he argued that the war, as it was experienced by much of the world, occurred primarily through images and tightly choreographed narratives crafted for television — simulations in other words of a war consumed rather than comprehended. More than three decades later, his thesis feels much more than prophetic. What played out across Indian media on the night of May 7 wasn't a war in any conventional sense. It was spectacle dressed up as strategy. A fantasy performed as fact. Like a Baudrillardian nightmare, India's supposed conquest of Pakistan happened not on the battlefield, but in the theatre of screens, hashtags, deepfakes and breathless anchors shouting over CGI explosions. The question on everyone's mind now is: Why? What was the endgame of this carefully — or carelessly — engineered illusion? Why orchestrate such a brazen media blitz, risking both international embarrassment and internal disillusionment? Part of the answer lies in the compulsions of Narendra Modi's hyper-nationalist political machinery that has fused statecraft with spectacle. In the Modi-era media ecosystem, perception is policy. Manufactured victories serve not only to distract from uncomfortable realities — like the debacle over Pahalgam or the mounting unrest in Indian-administered Kashmir — but also to feed a domestic audience groomed on cinematic patriotism, vengeful mythology and muscular slogans. Truth is optional; emotional gratification is not. When the Modi government, despite the risks inherent in conflict between peer-to-peer nuclear rivals, ordered his armed forces to 'punish' Pakistan for Pahalgam, he must have known — or been told, one hopes — that a clean, surgical hit was unlikely, if not impossible. And yet, it appears the Indian leadership wagered that in the war of narratives, it could still emerge on top, absorbing any setback, be it a casualty or two. After the Pakistan shot down two Indian fighter planes in response to the February 2019 Balakot episode, Modi famously claimed that if India had the Rafale at the time, none of their fighter jets would have gone down and none of Pakistan's would be saved. On face value, the statement implied a promise of a more 'muscular response' next time. But it also served a more calculated purpose at home, deflecting criticism and reviving a long-stalled defence deal. India eventually went on to purchase the French-made jets at a staggering $288 million apiece. That balloon popped when Western news outlets, one by one, confirmed the loss of at least one Rafale. The narrative began to shift, from Modi's 'revenge against terrorists' to the stark reality of India losing its air force's most prized asset. Was the deal — which cost over $9 billion and paved the way for a follow-up $7 billion order for 26 more jets — ever worth it? Before anyone in India could ask the uncomfortable question, Modi's government executed an information warfare retreat. Insulating the domestic audience behind a veil of censorship, it allowed the country's media to let its imagination run wild. For one night, they were free to conjure the illusion of dominance that Modi's India had long fantasised about. Unimpeded bombardment, fictional captures, phantom invasions, collapsing Pakistani cities — it didn't matter whether any of it actually happened. Only that it felt like it did. By morning, when the fantasy had frayed, the wreckage wasn't in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore or Peshawar, but in the credibility of the Indian media, and perhaps in the self-image of a nation that had briefly convinced itself it had won a war it never fought.
Hamilton Spectator
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
India's clash with Pakistan sees use of Chinese missiles, French jets, Israeli drones, and more
BANGKOK (AP) — India's missile and bomb strikes on targets in Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir have spiked tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, with Pakistan's leader calling the attacks an act of war. Claims on exactly what was hit and where have differed widely, with neither India nor Pakistan releasing many specific details. Making the ongoing conflict even more confusing, the internet has been 'flooded with disinformation, false claims, and manipulated photos and videos,' the Soufan Center think tank said in a research note Friday. 'This information warfare is compounded by both sides' commitment to save face,' it said. Still, some information can be gleaned from official statements and paired with what is known to gain greater insight into the clash: Pakistan says it shot down 5 Indian planes involved in the attack Hours after India's attack early Wednesday, in retaliation for last month's massacre of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir, Pakistan's military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif claimed that the Pakistan air force had shot down five Indian attack aircraft: three French-made Rafales, a Russian-made SU30MKI and a Russian-made MiG-29. He said that Pakistan's air force suffered no casualties, and that all of its aircraft returned safely to base. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif repeated the claim, saying that the Pakistan air force had the opportunity to shoot down 10 Indian planes, but exercised restraint and downed only the five that had fired on Pakistani targets. He told Parliament that overall 80 Indian planes had been involved in the attack. India, meantime, has not acknowledged any losses, though debris from three aircraft came down in at least three areas. Did it happen that way? India does have all three types of jets among its more-than 700 combat capable fighter aircraft, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies' Military Balance report. All three aircraft are fighters with the capability of carrying bombs or missiles for ground attacks. Pakistan and India have both said that their planes did not leave their home airspace, suggesting that if Pakistan's account is accurate, rather than a dogfight in the skies over Kashmir, Pakistani pilots fired multiple air-to-air missiles over a long distance to take down Indian planes. Presuming India fired back, even though Pakistan said none of its planes were hit, the aerial skirmish would have been quite the show. But there have been no eyewitness reports of it or video to emerge on social media. What is known for sure is that Indian planes were in the air and attacked at least nine targets, and that debris from three has been found. It's also plausible that Pakistan used surface to air missiles to hit Indian planes — which the war in Ukraine has shown to be very effective and would not have meant risking any of its own planes. Pakistan has a wide range of such missiles, primarily Chinese-made. Test of Chinese tech? Pakistan's air force includes American-made F-16s, the French Mirage, and the new Chinese-built J-10C, as well as the Chinese JF-17, which was developed jointly with Pakistan. In addition to American air-to-air missiles, Pakistan also has several Chinese products in its arsenal, including the PL-12 and PL-15, both of which can be used to fire at targets beyond visual range. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told lawmakers it was the J-10C that shot down the Indian aircraft, raising the likelihood that Chinese-built missiles were also employed. 'It's interesting that Pakistan is saying it is using Chinese jets that it has imported from China to shoot down Indian aircraft,' said Lisa Curtis, director of the Indo-Pacific security program at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank. In 2019, during the rivals' previous military confrontation, 'it was a Pakistani F-16 provided by the United States that was used to shoot down an Indian aircraft,' Curtis said in a conference call. 'It's interesting to see that Pakistan is relying more on its Chinese equipment than it did six years ago.' The news convinced traders with shares in AVIC Chengdu Aircraft, which builds both the J-10C and J-17, to post large gains Wednesday and Thursday on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, the stock of Dassault Aviation, the maker of the Rafale jet, which is among those Pakistan claims to have shot down, dropped sharply on Wednesday on the Paris Stock Exchange, though had recovered by close on Thursday. What else is known? India hasn't talked about what assets were involved in the attacks. The Indian Defense Ministry said that the strikes targeted at least nine sites 'where terrorist attacks against India have been planned.' Pakistan, meantime, has said 31 civilians were killed, including women and children, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the country's Punjab province, and that buildings hit included two mosques. India did show video of eight of the strikes at a briefing on Wednesday. four in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and four in Pakistan. Both sides have talked about missile strikes, but it was clear from the video that bombs were also dropped on some targets, possibly from drones. In addition to claiming the five Indian aircraft shot down, Pakistan also said it downed an unspecified number of drones on Wednesday. Indian officials said the strikes were precision attacks, and from the videos shown, it did appear that specific areas of installations were targeted with individual missiles or bombs, rather than widespread areas. What happened next? India sent multiple attack drones into Pakistan on Thursday, with Pakistan claiming to have shot down 29 of them. The drones were identified as Israeli-made Harop, one of several in India's inventory. One drone damaged a military site near the city of Lahore and wounded four soldiers, and another hit the city of Rawalpindi, which is right next to the capital Islamabad., according to the Pakistani army. India did not deny sending drones, but the Defense Ministry said its armed forces 'targeted air defense radars and systems' in several places in Pakistan, including Lahore. It did not comment on the claims of 29 being shot down. India similarly did not comment on Pakistani claims to have killed 50-60 soldiers in exchanges along the Line of Control, though it did say one of its soldiers was killed by shelling on Wednesday. Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, meantime, denied Indian accusations that Pakistan had fired missiles toward the Indian city of Amritsar, saying in fact an Indian drone fell in the city. ___ Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.
