Latest news with #AurangzebAhmed
Mint
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Why is Pakistani Air Marshal Aurangzeb going viral on internet?
A particular exchange from Pakistan Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed's May 9 press conference - held in the wake of Operation Sindoor - has become a goldmine for meme-makers online. The viral clip features a pointed question from a female journalist that seemingly threw the senior official off his game, much to the amusement of netizens. The journalist asked, 'If you could tell me in very non-technical terms about the air defense system, what capabilities does Pakistan have when it comes to neutralising surface-to-surface and air-to-surface missile systems?' What followed was an awkward pause, with Ahmed visibly unsure of how to proceed. His hesitant and somewhat muddled attempt at a response gave social media users all the fodder they needed to launch a meme storm. Many likened his flustered demeanor to the feeling of getting hit with 'an out-of-syllabus question.' Trying to salvage the moment, the Air Vice Marshal said, 'Air-to-surface, okay, this means academic discourse—a pretty intense kind—when you are asking such technical details, and we bore the rest of the people with them. But I must say, as a broad guideline, the Pakistan Air Force air defense system is pretty capable of handling high-speed, long-range vectors, even hypersonic weapons. So this should be pretty comforting to everybody inside Pakistan.' Despite the effort, the clip - especially the initial exchange- took on a life of its own. A user going by the handle Crystal Clear posted the video on X, commenting, 'How did I miss this epic portion? The 2nd part went viral, but this 1st part is awesome. This guy is the greatest bluff.'
News18
14-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
Pakistan Photoshops Old Image To Show Submarine, Naval Readiness Against India, Called Out
Last Updated: Pakistan showcased a doctored two-year-old image from a joint naval drill with China to falsely depict its naval readiness against India. Amid heightened tensions with India, Pakistan seems to have run a cocktail of misinformation and fake propaganda by using a two-year-old image to falsely show their Navy's preparedness against India. The photos were displayed during a press conference in Islamabad, where senior Pakistani military representatives, including Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed, Director General of Public Relations for the Pakistan Air Force, and Vice Admiral Raja Rab Nawaz, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations attempted to show their country's air, land, and sea assets in the wake of a conflict with India. At the briefing, Pakistan officials showed an image purportedly depicting the active deployment of Pakistan's naval fleet. The image also featured a submarine, two warships, and three aircraft, defining the setup as operational readiness to respond to India. However, social media users were quick to identify that the image had previously appeared in an official Radio Pakistan publication in December 2023. According to reports, the original image was clicked during a joint Pakistan-China naval exercise in the Indian Ocean, and shows a formation of Chinese and Pakistani warships with three Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft flying in formation overhead. The original image also did not include a submarine, which mysteriously appeared in the image presented at the Islamabad press conference, thus proving that the same was doctored. The images used in the DGISPR press brief about the Pakistan Coast Guard seizing a 'navy" are actually from 2023 , and they were clearly photoshopped even back then #NuclearLeak #ceasefire — Manglam Mishra (@ManglamMis67977) May 13, 2025 During the press briefing, the country's Naval chief expressed complete satisfaction and confidence over operational preparedness of the Pakistan Navy Fleet. He also acknowledged and praised the dedication and professionalism of officers and men in successfully achieving operational objectives and milestones for the year 2023. This comes amid the Press Information Bureau's regular fact checks, exposing Pakistan's barrage of false news and claims. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Adampur airbase in Punjab proved Pakistan's claims of destroying the facility were false. Amid retaliatory strikes by India, Pakistan had claimed it had inflicted heavy damage to the facility. However, satellite imagery from third parties, such as China's Mizar Vision, had also confirmed that no structural damage was caused to the airbase. First Published: May 14, 2025, 14:50 IST
Express Tribune
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed becomes top Google search in Pakistan
Listen to article Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has become one of the most searched individuals in Pakistan, following heightened military tensions with India earlier. Search interest in 'Aurangzeb' surged sharply in Pakistan on May 12, 2025, with Google Trends data showing a peak value of 100 at 2:00 AM—the highest point recorded during the past week. The trend has maintained elevated levels since the peak, indicating sustained public engagement and interest in the PAF spokesperson. Aurangzeb Ahmed, who serves as the official spokesperson for the PAF, has gained popularity among the Pakistani public, particularly the youth, for his composed demeanour and subtle humour during press briefings. In a widely circulated clip, the Air Vice Marshal said, 'I will pick up from where I left, day before yesterday, PAF vs IAF, 6-nil,' referring to Pakistan's reported downing of five Indian aircraft during the escalation. The tally reportedly included three Rafale jets, a Su-30, a MiG-29, and a combat drone. The Pakistan Armed Forces launched Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos in response to Indian military strikes that began overnight on May 6–7. The Indian attacks resulted in the deaths of numerous civilians, including women, children, and the elderly. On the Indian side, 'Ceasefire meaning' was the most searched term, registering over 10 million queries. 'Operation Sindoor' and 'Mock Drill' followed with five million and one million searches, respectively. In Pakistan, the term 'Islamabad Airport' ranked third, with 100,000 searches. Other popular queries included 'JF-17 Thunder,' 'DG ISPR,' 'Dassault Aviation share price,' and Indian fighter pilot 'Shivangi Singh.' 'PAF conducted largest airstrike on Indian airfields since 1971' The PAF targeted the highest number of Indian Air Force (IAF) airfields in a single mission since the 1971 war, Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed said on Sunday. In a media briefing, the Air Vice Marshal said that the PAF strikes were conducted with precision and deliberately avoided civilian infrastructure. He further said that the operation was a swift and calculated response to recent escalations, aimed at deterring further hostilities. 'The mission was executed on our terms, under clear instructions from the leadership,' Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb. 'India attempted to establish a 'new normal' through aggressive escalation. Pakistan's swift and coordinated reply denied them that opportunity,' Aurangzeb Ahmed said, adding that Pakistan's military radar and jamming systems also intercepted multiple Indian drones aimed at civilian areas.
NDTV
14-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Pakistan Uses Old, Morphed Image To Claim Its Navy's Operational Readiness
New Delhi: The Pakistani military has come under scrutiny for presenting outdated and digitally manipulated imagery to support claims of heightened naval operational readiness. The image in question, prominently displayed during a recent press briefing, has since been proven to date back to at least 2023. At a recent press conference in Islamabad, senior Pakistani military representatives, including Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed, Director General of Public Relations for the Pakistan Air Force, and Vice Admiral Raja Rab Nawaz, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, attempted to convince the Pakistani people that its air, land and sea assets are at their optimal best for deployment. Vice Admiral Nawaz showed a photo purportedly depicting active deployment of Pakistan's naval fleet, featuring two warships, a submarine, and three aircraft, in what was described as an operational response to escalating tensions with India. Image analysis and archival verification reveal that the photograph had previously appeared in an official Radio Pakistan publication in December 2023. The original image, taken during a joint Pakistan-China naval exercise in the Indian Ocean, shows a formation of Chinese and Pakistani warships with three Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft flying in formation overhead. The same image was used in a 2023 article. The image did not include the submarine seen in the version presented at the press event. This discrepancy strongly suggests that the image was digitally altered before being repurposed. A submarine, likely a Pakistan Navy diesel-electric vessel, was inserted into the image, an addition absent from the original photograph published under the headline "Naval Chief lauds achievements of operational objectives by Pakistan Navy." That article reported on the Fleet Annual Efficiency Competition Parade held in Karachi and featured remarks by Admiral Naveed Ashraf. There has been a deluge of misinformation and disinformation from Pakistan since tensions escalated bwteen the two countries after India's retaliatory move in response to the Pahalgam terroris attack, which killed 26 people. The digital campaign extended beyond social media. Mainstream Pakistani media outlets carried segments reinforcing unsubstantiated claims, often citing unnamed "official sources" and offering little to no visual or documentary evidence.
NZ Herald
12-05-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
India-Pakistan ceasefire holds - but the battle lines have changed
On Monday, in his first public comments on the conflict, Modi said India's operation last week 'has drawn a new line in the fight against terrorism. It has set a new benchmark – a new normal." The fragility of the current calm appeared not to register in Pakistan, where newspaper editorials and politicians remained jubilant through the weekend. During a military news conference on Sunday night, Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed said that by 'reestablishing deterrence', Pakistan had prevented India from 'setting a new normal'. Officials in Islamabad have continued to trumpet the downing of Indian warplanes on Wednesday as a win for Pakistan's Chinese technology over India's more expensive Western equipment. A Washington Post visual analysis showed that at least two French-made Indian jets appear to have crashed during the initial wave of strikes. Pakistan says it shot down five fighter planes, a claim India has neither confirmed nor denied. New Delhi has said it achieved its military objectives and that it killed '100 terrorists'. India miscalculated on Wednesday when it 'launched a missile attack on a nuclear-armed state without considering the consequences, without climbing the escalation ladder carefully', said Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's former foreign minister. 'It lacked the capability to defend itself against retaliation and misjudged Pakistan's will and capacity to respond,' Khar said, adding that 'for us, the belief in India's conventional superiority has collapsed. More weapons do not equate to superiority – it's about how effectively you use them." Najam Sethi, a prominent Pakistani journalist, believes the triumphalism is premature and potentially dangerous: 'The Pakistanis are rejoicing in their success and are not getting ready to face the next onslaught. … I'm scared, to be honest.' Absent from the celebrations is a recognition of how serious the fighting became in its final stages, particularly early on Saturday, when India struck several military bases in Pakistan, including one in Rawalpindi, where the country's armed forces are headquartered. The strikes prompted a large-scale Pakistani retaliation on military targets inside India. At one point, the government body that oversees Pakistan's nuclear and other strategic weapons was summoned for discussions with the Prime Minister, according to officials in Islamabad, alarming US officials. 'We conveyed to the US that this is now very serious,' said Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States. 'The US itself saw that the attack on the air base in Rawalpindi was just too close for comfort. …It was edging towards an all-out war.' Later on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced a US-brokered ceasefire. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X that India and Pakistan had also agreed 'to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site', raising hopes that the countries might be willing to broach more fundamental disputes – including the status of Kashmir. But India and Pakistan have described upcoming talks this week as low-level and technical. 'There's no indication that the talks the US wants to have, which we would welcome, will happen anytime soon,' Lodhi said, blaming 'Indian reluctance'. Indian officials have not directly addressed the possibility of broader talks. India waited until Monday to announce the reopening of 32 civilian airports that were closed last week. Srinagar, the largest city in Indian-administered Kashmir, was still reeling from last week's wave of drone attacks and loud explosions. The city's popular gardens, usually full of tourists looking to escape the summer heat, were deserted. Advertisement Advertise with NZME. In the town of Surankote, in Poonch district, where multiple camps were set up for families displaced from border areas, scepticism about the ceasefire runs deep. 'The dilemma is whether to go back or wait,' said resident Saima Choudhary. In New Delhi, analysts and commentators said the Indian leadership appeared far from deterred by Pakistan's military response. India has made clear that major militant acts will now prompt increasingly forceful military responses, said Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi. 'I think the nature of the operations and the depth of the strikes is going to result in significant adaptations by terrorist groups and their sponsors in Pakistan in the sense that it will no longer be possible for them to operate with impunity,' he said, potentially driving some of them underground. Pakistan has denied any links to last month's rampage by gunmen in a tourist area in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 people – the deadliest assault on Indian civilians in more than 15 years. While India said its initial strikes inside Pakistan on Wednesday targeted militant sites in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan said the victims were civilians. Over the past decade, each conflict that revolved around Kashmir has been bloodier – and has veered ever-closer to all-out war, said Christopher Clary, an associate professor of political science at the University at Albany and a former South Asia expert for the Defence Department. Advertise with NZME. In 2019, after a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir killed more than 40 Indian paramilitary police, India launched an airstrike on a remote stretch of forest about 65km into Pakistani territory. Wednesday's aerial assault extended into populous parts of Punjab for the first time in decades, and the Saturday strike in Rawalpindi was just a stone's throw from the Pakistani capital. Bisaria, the former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, said last week's Indian strikes hit Pakistan 'more decisively, more visibly' and established 'a new equilibrium'. The next time India feels compelled to enforce this new equilibrium, some experts worry its military may rely even more on missiles to avoid any further missteps by the air force. 'There is this very real danger that another attack will come, and we will be back into a near war,' said Clary. 'We just don't have that many wars between nuclear-armed powers to know how dangerous this deadly game can be.'
