Indian Military Abandoned Professionalism for Political Theatre

Air Commodore Khalid Chishti (Retd) criticised the Indian military's recent claims of downing Pakistani jets, describing them as delayed and inconsistent revelations emerging 93 days after a May 2025 conflict. In an interview, he pointed to the Indian Air Force chief's August statements—initially citing five or six aircraft downed, later doubled—as evidence of political maneuvering ahead of Bihar's November elections, where 70 million voters could sway outcomes. Chishti argued that such assertions reflect a "delusional" mindset driven by electoral pressures, eroding the professionalism he has long respected in India's armed forces, which he accused of veering into uncharacteristic political territory. He dismissed revived tensions over the Sir Creek marshlands as a diversion from India's air operation failures, where its 1,000-plus fighter jets allegedly failed to engage effectively, resorting instead to unverified S-400 missile claims.

Chishti lauded the Pakistan Air Force's swift post-conflict transparency, including wreckage coordinates, pilot audio, and social media evidence, contrasting it with India's lack of substantiation and international media silence on the latter's narrative. He highlighted Pakistan's advancements in cyber warfare, electronic jamming, and indigenous drone production—bolstered by 19 new inductions over four years—as key to surprising India, urging New Delhi's forces to "move on" with grace rather than pursue unattainable objectives. Amid a rare favorable geopolitical landscape—with support from Beijing, Washington, and Riyadh—Chishti called for Pakistan to capitalise diplomatically without alienating allies, emphasising multi-domain integration and readiness to deter future misadventures, while predicting further PAF enhancements.