An Aftermath, by Barrister Yasser Latif Hamdani

In the aftermath of the war, when I first came across Indian Twitter handles declaring victory I dismissed them as BJP IT cell activists trying to put lipstick on a pig. It seems now that there is mass level delusion that our Indian friends suffer from as a result of media blackout and their media which is a purveyor of fake news.

So let me try and put down the facts for you as I see them from the outside as I am in London at the moment (hence my view is not tainted by Pakistani media).

What happened on May 7th was the largest aerial battle since the Battle of Britain and the 2nd world war. International media by and large is reporting on how Pakistani Chinese J10s blew the Indian French Rafales out of the sky. The stock price for Dassault is Rafale manufacturer sharply declined as a consequence of that. When asked a direct question, the Indian Air Force said that losses are part of combat but that they achieved their objective. This is an admission that IAF lost its Rafales, MIG 29 and SU 30. Martin Baker the ejection seat manufacturer (for Rafales) updated its life saved counter to reflect that at least 5 more planes had gone down. Evidence proves that PAF decisively won the aerial battle ie the Battle of Pakistan. So that is Pakistan 1 India 0

Now we come to objectives. India says that its objective was to destroy terrorist infrastructure. What we do know is that India bombed a few mosques. Let us assume that it was this terrorist infrastructure they were talking about. In the process they killed Masood Azhar’s family (women and children). I have no love for Masood Azhar Hafiz Saeed or any other Islamist militant but killing someone’s family is not dismantling terrorist infrastructure if indeed there is such a thing in Pakistan which is debatable. We don’t even have evidence that Pakistani soil was used in the attack on Hindu tourists in Kashmir. Pakistan has repeatedly offered itself up for international investigation but it is India that refused.

The real Indian objective (as was patently obvious from Indian media’s coverage) was to:

1. Destroy Pakistan and make it into Gaza.
2. Divide Pakistan and change its map.
3. Destroy Karachi port.
4. Conquer Lahore.
5. Make Balochistan secede and become an independent country.

The Modi regime is desperate to one up Congress. The Indian narrative is that Indira Gandhi divided Pakistan into two. Modi wants to be a greater PM than Indira Gandhi and divide Pakistan further.
If anyone has any doubts about these objectives, just review what Indian media was saying from 7th May to 9th May. Going by Indian media BLA had taken over Quetta, Lahore was under Indian army’s control and General Asim Munir had been arrested. What Indian media said is part of historical record now and cannot be undone. India failed miserably to achieve any of its stated objectives. Pakistan didn’t prove to be Gaza and showed it had teeth too. So again this Pakistan 2 India 0

Finally the question of who sued for peace. All reports are that it was the Pakistani counter attack on May 10th that forced India to beg Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the US to intervene. Obviously war didn’t suit Pakistan and in any event Pakistan is cash strapped and could probably not afford a long war. However on the day it was India who sued for peace to the dismay of its war hawks who wanted Pakistan destroyed.

India’s claim to victory is that it bombed Pakistan’s air bases (supposedly). The only worthwhile evidence they produced is of a hangar with its roof with a hole. Let us assume that India managed to get a few missiles in. Is that enough to declare victory? Not by a long shot.

All said and done Pakistan is still standing not even bloodied. It has not become Gaza. It has not broken into four countries. BLA hasn’t taken over Quetta. Karachi port is intact and undamaged. In the end all we have is an aerial battle that India lost badly.

So you decide who won. Pakistan has a military that by every metric is half the size of India. It managed not only to defend itself but gave India a bloodied nose.