Two weeks ago, Pakistan and India were on the brink of all-out war. On May 7, India’s far-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government launched air strikes across the Line of Control (LoC), targeting sites in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and as far inland as Bahawalpur, Punjab.
Branded “Operation Sindoor,” these strikes were, according to the Indian government, a response to the killing of Indian tourists by militants in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir. India blamed Pakistan for the attack, despite offering no evidence to back up its accusations and refusing calls for an independent investigation. The Indian strikes killed dozens, including at least one child.
Pakistan retaliated, and in the days that followed, both nuclear powers exchanged fire across the LoC and deployed drones into each other’s airspace. Scores of civilians were killed on both sides — the overwhelming majority of them in Kashmir. Then, on May 10, Donald Trump brokered a cease-fire, which, despite initial charges of violations by both India and Pakistan, has since held.
Pakistan’s Air Force, meanwhile, claimed to have shot down multiple Indian aircraft, including at least one French-made Rafale jet, one of the Indian military’s most prized assets. A French intelligence official confirmed this claim. The symbolism of this victory — a relatively smaller air force downing elite Western fighter jets — was not lost on the public or the media.
And so, in Pakistan, the mood since has been one of triumph. Television channels loop celebratory footage of the Air Force while news anchors praise the military’s resolve. Hashtags glorifying the army have been trending on social media nonstop — so much so that the government lifted its monthslong ban on…
Auteur: Hamza Shehryar
