It's On Social Media: Pak Defence Minister Khawaja Asif Trolled After Failing To Justify False Claims Of Downing IAF Jets

As tensions between India and Pakistan continue to escalate following the Pahalgam terror attack and India's subsequent retaliation with Operation Sindoor, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, in an interview to American news outlet CNN, has defended Islamabad's false claim that Pakistan has downed five Indian fighter jets, including Rafales.

When asked by CNN for concrete evidence to support his claims, Asif responded, “It is all on social media, and Indian social media, not our social media. The debris of the jets fell on their side. It is all over the Indian media.”

To add to the minister’s further embarrassment, the CNN anchor quickly interjected, saying, “You’re the defence minister, sir. The reason to talk to you today, sir, is not to talk about content all over social media. I’m sorry."

When pressed for further details—such as how the jets were brought down or what equipment was used—Asif failed to identify the aircraft allegedly involved.

India has refuted Pakistan's claims of shooting down Indian fighter jets, exposing the allegations as baseless.

Soon after the minister's claims, the fact-checking unit of India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) debunked Asif's statements.

“Beware of old images shared by pro-Pakistan handles in the present context! An old image showing a crashed aircraft is being circulated with the claim that Pakistan recently shot down an Indian Rafale jet near Bahawalpur during the ongoing Operation Sindoor. #PIBFactCheck: This image is from an earlier incident involving an IAF MiG-21 fighter jet that crashed in Moga district in Punjab in 2021,” PIB stated on its X handle.

Following his failure to back his shallow claims with solid evidence, the Pakistan Defence minister faced brutal trolling on social media.

In line with its pledge, India launched a series of precision airstrikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) late Tuesday night under Operation Sindoor, targeting terror launchpads in retaliation for the April 22 killings of innocent civilians by Pakistan-backed terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

The Indian Army confirmed hitting nine specific targets, clarifying that no Pakistani military installations were attacked. The Army also expressed confidence in both the selection of targets and the accuracy of the strikes.

Defence officials described the operation as “focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature,” aimed at disrupting the planning and direction of terrorist attacks against India.

While Pakistan has confirmed 30 casualties from the Indian strikes, its leadership has continued to disseminate misinformation about the attacks on social media.
 

Also Read: When Reality Fails, Fabricate: Pakistan's Social Media Delusion Over 'Operation Sindoor' After Battlefield Defeat