Pakistan’s senior military leadership has once again resorted to bluster and rhetorical posturing in the wake of the significant losses suffered by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) during India’s swift and high-intensity Operation Sindoor earlier this year.

Speaking at the Defence and Martyrs’ Day ceremony in Karachi on September 6, Air Vice Marshal Shahryar Khan claimed that “next time the score will not be 6-0 but 60-0, Insha Allah,” in reference to the confirmed six aerial losses—five fighter aircraft and one larger airborne platform—that Pakistan suffered during the Indian strikes.

His remarks, couched in religious overtones, attempted to project resolve and retaliatory capability, but were widely seen as bravado to cover Pakistan’s recent operational setbacks.

The officer reiterated Pakistan’s oft-repeated line that the country is “peace-loving and progressive” but that its preference for peace should not be mistaken for weakness, while also stressing that the armed forces remain “fully prepared to thwart all hostile intentions.”

His speech came less than a month after Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh publicly revealed the extent of Pakistan’s losses during Operation Sindoor.

According to Singh, the operation, launched on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, inflicted unprecedented damage on Pakistan’s air power and supporting ground-based defence architecture.

He confirmed that Indian forces recorded at least five fighter aircraft kills and brought down one large high-value airborne platform, assessed to be either an electronic intelligence aircraft or an AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) platform.

Notably, Singh described this as the “largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill,” citing that the target was engaged at a stand-off range of nearly 300 kilometres, underscoring India’s advanced capabilities in long-range air defence engagements.

In addition to these losses, Operation Sindoor had a crippling effect on Pakistan’s defence infrastructure. The Indian strike packages, employing a mix of precision air, missile, and drone assets, successfully neutralized key command and control centres at Murid and Chaklala, thereby disrupting Pakistan’s operational coherence during the crisis.

At least six radar systems—including both long-range surveillance radars and short-range tactical radars—were destroyed, blinding portions of Pakistan’s airspace monitoring network. Furthermore, two Surface-to-Air Guided Weapon (SAGW) systems positioned at Lahore and Okara were taken out, further degrading PAF’s layered air defence shield.

India also targeted and struck three critical hangars across different airbases: the Sukkur UAV hangar used for unmanned aerial operations, the Bholari hangar, and the Jacobabad F-16 hangar. Intelligence suggested there were at least some F-16s undergoing maintenance inside Jacobabad hangar, along with one AEW&C platform that may have been compromised in the strikes.

By simultaneously targeting frontline infrastructure and high-value assets across 11 Pakistani airbases, including the Nur Khan airbase, India severely eroded the PAF’s operational readiness and war fighting capacity.

The operation itself was prompted by escalating hostilities following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, widely attributed to Pakistan-backed groups.

While Pakistan attempted to escalate the conflict through cross-border shelling across the LoC and attempted drone incursions into Indian border areas, India’s military response, through Operation Sindoor, was rapid, coordinated, and punitive.

By leveraging stand-off precision strikes against key targets, India demonstrated not only an ability to neutralise PAF’s combat capabilities but also exhibited escalation dominance through calibrated strikes that avoided civilian areas yet crippled Pakistan’s defensive backbone.

The strategic implications of Sindoor extend beyond the tactical attrition of Pakistani assets; they also highlight the growing effectiveness of India’s integrated air defence network, real-time intelligence fusion, and long-range strike capabilities.

In this context, Air Vice Marshal Shahryar Khan’s statement in Karachi appears less as a demonstration of preparedness and more as damage control aimed at Pakistan’s domestic audience, attempting to paper over the severe impact of the Indian operations.

With its ability to simultaneously destroy fighter jets, AWACS-type platforms, major radars, missile batteries, and high-value hangars, Operation Sindoor underscored the widening capability gap between the Indian and Pakistani air forces.

India’s public acknowledgement of these strikes and kills, including what may be the most distant-ever surface-to-air engagement in the subcontinent, has further undermined Pakistan’s credibility in information warfare.

The bravado-filled rhetoric of a “60-0” score thus starkly contrasts with the battlefield realities revealed by India, underscoring the internal pressures on Pakistan’s military establishment to maintain morale in the face of operational losses and international embarrassment.

Based On ANI Report