ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday claimed that no aircraft of the military was hit or destroyed by Indian armed forces during the recent conflict.
His comments came hours after Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said the Indian Air Force (IAF) shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and a large aircraft during Operation Sindoor.
"We have an indication of at least one AWC in that AWC hangar, and a few F-16s, which are under maintenance there. We have at least five fighters confirmed killed and one large aircraft, which could be either an aircraft or an AWC, which was taken at a distance of about 300 kilometres. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about," Singh said on Saturday.
He said the operation also resulted in a large number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), drones and some of their missiles falling into the Indian territory.
"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.
He also said that every violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will invite "swift, surefire and proportionate response".
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.