Pakistan has changed its narrative over India’s drone attack multiple times ever since the launch of Operation Sindoor on May 7.
After India destroyed nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) around 1.30 am on May 7, Pakistan’s army admitted that “India entered 1,100 km inside Pakistan’s territory unchecked, did several drone attacks and went back”.
It further said that Chinese radars “failed to intercept” the Indian drones. Pakistan also claimed India sent drones to Lahore, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, Attock, Nankana Sahib, Bahawalpur, Miano, Chor, Ghotki and Karachi.
“We shot down all drones launched by India,” said Pakistani army spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry. He also claimed India had used the Israeli-made Harop drones against Pakistan. These drones, also known as loitering munitions, are made by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
Later, on May 8, Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif claimed that India used stealth technology drones to “enter deep inside Pakistan”. “These drones came at an altitude of 35,000 feet. They definitely had some advanced technology—maybe something like stealth,” he said.
Further on May 9, Khawaja Asif took a U-turn from his May 8 statement, and said in Pakistan’s Parliament that the drone attack was “mounted to detect our locations. It’s a technical thing that I can’t explain. We didn’t intercept the drones, so that the location of our aerial defence units won’t get leaked.”
His latest statement came after the Indian armed forces neutralised Lahore air defence system, the Indian government announced on May 8. “Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India… These were neutralised by the Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems. The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations that prove the Pakistani attacks,” the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said in a Ministry of Defence release.
Late on May 8, Pakistan fired 300-400 Turkish drones on Indian military installations in around 36 cities across Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi said in an evening press briefing on Friday.
Fifty of the drones were shot down by air defence guns, Col Qureshi said. Another 20 were neutralised by jamming radio frequencies.
The firing of hundreds of drones — all of which were intercepted by India’s air defence system — was a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement, Col Qureshi added.
Khawaja Asif has become the subject of widespread ridicule following his appearance on CNN in the wake of Operation Sindoor.
During the interview, he was pressed on Pakistan’s claim that it had successfully shot down five Indian fighter jets — a statement that has been attributed as fake and has been widely questioned due to the absence of credible evidence.
