Al Jazeera reports: Islamabad, Pakistan – In Pakistan, May began with streets in major cities dotted with banners and posters honouring the military leadership that, in the official telling, guided the country’s defences and led the nation to victory in the four-day aerial war with India last year.At the Nur Khan Auditorium in the city of Rawalpindi on Thursday, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) held a ceremony marking its “achievements” in downing Indian jets. On Thursday, May 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi changed his profile picture on X to the official logo of Operation Sindoor, India’s name for the May 2025 military operation against Pakistan, and urged every Indian to do the same.
“A year ago, our armed forces displayed unparalleled courage, precision and resolve,” Modi wrote on X. “Today, we remain as steadfast as ever in our resolve to defeat terrorism and destroy its enabling ecosystem.”Both governments put their militaries before the cameras. At a news conference lasting more than two hours in New Delhi, Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti said India had “destroyed 13 Pakistani aircraft” and “struck 11 airfields”.Meanwhile, in Rawalpindi, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media arm of Pakistan’s armed forces, told reporters that the country had defeated an enemy “five times larger than itself” and had shown only “10 percent” of its military potential.
Background
“We are prepared,” he said. “If anyone wants to test us, they are welcome to do so.” Advertisement Analysts, however, say that behind the public claims of victory and the celebrations in both countries, key questions remain about whether the South Asian neighbours have drawn lessons, both from their respective gains in the conflict and from the weaknesses exposed during and after the fighting.The ‘wins’ India, Pakistan are celebratingOn April 22, 2025, gunmen attacked tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam, killing 26 civilians. India blamed the attack on Pakistan, an accusation Islamabad rejected.India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, striking multiple sites deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Key facts
- “A year ago, our armed forces displayed unparalleled courage, precision and resolve,” Modi wrote on X.
- “Today, we remain as steadfast as ever in our resolve to defeat terrorism and destroy its enabling ecosystem.”Both governments put their militaries before the cameras.
- It insisted it was targeting “terrorist” infrastructure, but Pakistani officials said civilians bore the brunt of the assault.
What this means
It insisted it was targeting “terrorist” infrastructure, but Pakistani officials said civilians bore the brunt of the assault. Pakistan retaliated with Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos.Contrary to official narratives on both sides, the four-day conflict that followed did not end in a neat victory for either nation.Pakistan can point to the aerial exchange on the night of May 6-7. Its Chinese-built J-10C jets shot down Indian aircraft, including Rafales, during the opening phase of the conflict.At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June 2025, India’s second chief of defence staff, General Anil Chauhan, admitted to jet losses on the first day of the fighting.
Air Marshal Bharti had framed it more plainly days earlier: “Losses are a part of combat.”Pakistan also emerged with what many analysts saw as a diplomatic and narrative advantage. It accepted US President Donald Trump’s assertion that he had brought about the ceasefire that ended the war on May 10, nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize, and has, over the past year, emerged as a significant diplomatic force, acting as the main mediator of a ceasefire in the US war on Iran.For its part, India can also point to significant military outcomes. Its BrahMos long-range missiles struck multiple Pakistani airbases, including Nur Khan in Rawalpindi and Bholari in the Sindh province.India also used Israeli-made drones that penetrated as far as Karachi and Lahore, and it suspended the Indus Waters Treaty on April 23, 2025, a pact that governs river-water sharing between the neighbours.
Originally reported by Al Jazeera. This story has been edited and re-presented by BRIC Team.
