Pakistan's contrasting claims on Indian drone strikes expose its duplicity

New Delhi, May 9 (IANS) Rattled by Indian military strikes on terror bases inside its territory, the Pakistan government and its army have gone into overdrive to save face, first, by launching drones and UAVs on Indian territory and then, activating its propaganda machinery to spread fake and fabricated impression that it got an edge over Indian forces in the military face-off.

In a bid to project it as the superior force, Pakistan is only exposing its duplicity. The contrasting claims by the Pakistan Army and its Defence Minister Khwaja Muhammed Asif regarding Indian drone strikes has caught the attention of netizens, and this has only made them a laughing stock.

DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif claimed that Pakistan Army shot down at least 12 loitering munitions sent by India.

However, the Defence Minister is heard claiming in a video that they didn’t shoot Indian drones to avoid leaking the strategic positions of their military assets.

On May 8, Pakistan Army spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that as many as 9 different places in Pakistan were targeted by Indian drones. He claimed that Pakistani forces shot down 12 Harop drones, adding that they didn’t cause much damage. He also claimed to have images of debris of drones shot by Pakistani forces.

On May 9, the Pakistani Defence Minister reportedly claimed that India used stealth technology to enter Pakistani airspace and Pakistan didn’t intercept it knowingly.

The vial video on social media, shows him stating: “We didn't intercept Indian drones because we didn't want to reveal our locations.”

A day ago, Khwaja Asif faced an embarrassing situation as a US journalist (working with a leading media outlet) questioned him about Pakistan's claims of shooting down Indian jets.

When asked whether he had proof to back the claims, he pointed to social media posts.

"You’re the defence minister, sir. The reason to talk to you today, is not to talk about content all over social media," the journalist quipped.

That video also went viral, prompting people to poke fun at him.

--IANS

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