According to US calculations…
As you may remember, February of this year was a pretty heavy month for Pakistan and India.
Tensions between both countries hadn’t been this high in decades and following an attack, a captured Indian Air Force pilot and a balloon blown up by a $50 million dollar missile, it seemed as though things finally calmed down.
But of course, this is real life.
In February, when the Balakot attack occurred and India and Pakistan were thrown into a self-proclaimed dog fight, Indian sources and media announced that an F-16 jet was shot down by Commander Abhinandan, the captured pilot who went viral all over social media in Pakistan.
Remember him?
Yeah, we all ended up loving him and releasing him so it was pretty much war shrapnel swept under the rug. Until now.
It has been revealed that a recent count of Pakistani planes done by US officials have revealed that no F-16 was shot down by Indian Forces.
And that each fighter jet was accounted for, including the one that was allegedly shot down by Abhi. The article went on to speculate that though it genuinely seemed like a direct hit in the eyes of the Air Force at the time, it was, in fact, a miss.
Not only does this mean that Indian Forces have been perhaps misled themselves, but they have also misled the entire nation and the entire world with regards to war hits committed. Indian media has been known for its harsh and often unfiltered coverage of events and when it comes to commentary on Pakistan, lack of ethics and journalistic integrity is off the charts. So obviously, it is a really big hit to India’s ego.
And more than anything, to Pakistanis, it means knowing that the Indian Air Force was unable to shoot down a Pakistani F-16.
And as you can imagine, they have been celebrating since.
When you ask for proof of F16 shoot down Indians come up with this pic.twitter.com/6JEN8uBqX8
— Sikander Asif (@SikanderAsif11) March 31, 2019
Pakistanis are ecstatic at the new information, confirming that our enemy-neighbour was unsuccessful at launching an attack on one of our own planes. An attack that the Indian Air Force was quite proud of.
Indian pilot ‘Abhi #None #Done’ shot no Pak jet: #US
F-16 | #Abhinandan #JummaMubarak #PakistanZindabad #PakistanAirForce #PAF
— Taimoor Asif (@taimoorasif0124) April 5, 2019
Truth is hard,again Chowkidar proved wrong. A slap in the face of Indians and their fabricated claim on shot down Pakistani F-16 has brutally exposed by American journalist. pic.twitter.com/G2JqPsSSh6
— HM NAQASH (@HmNaqash) April 5, 2019
what an embarrassment for #India. The inspection of F-16 was done on request of #India and it hit back bacdly.
Pakistan invites USA to count.
here is the report 👇 pic.twitter.com/cnuDqVeW90— HY Malhi (@Husnainmalhi) April 5, 2019
@MdShafiKhatana i told you they will never be able to surprise pak
— Dr Badar Awan (@DrBadarAwan5) April 5, 2019
And to look at both sides of the border, it looks as though Indians on social media seem to be taking the news rather well?
Now I'm sure the Modi will say "HAPPY APRIL FOOL INDIANS" 😂😂😝#F16 F-16#Pakistani#abhinandan https://t.co/tAkXqucmPC
— Pakistan Zindabaad 🇵🇰❤️ (@DefenderPaki) April 5, 2019
Ish.
The country is having mixed reactions over the news, including a sense of blame towards Prime Minister Modi.
Also have we decided that #abhinandan is a liar, shouldn't he be court-martialled then? Discuss. He made the claim he shot down an F-16.
— Nayanika (@nayanikaaa) April 5, 2019
“It looks increasingly like India failed to impose significant costs on Pakistan, but lost a plane and a helicopter of its own in the process.” #balakotairstrike#abhinandan #Pakistan https://t.co/4Ri09oJtHH
— Sanjeev Singh (@sanjeevrsingh) April 5, 2019
Modi tried his best to manipulate International community with his lies but it's a famous saying that to hide one lie , a thousand lies are needed .
Ask abhinandan if he shot F-16 lol
Can't wait for the changing narratives from Modi govt .#abhinandan#Pakistani— Socratic Punk (@Salibilist1) April 5, 2019
The thing is, who honestly cares if India never shot down our plane. This information will literally do nothing for anyone at this point. The damage, which was more metaphorical than actual in hindsight, was still done. The US confirming this number now is like that moment in an argument when you think of a good solid comeback but it’s three days later and it won’t make sense now. Tragic, but irrelevant.
That is quite literally the case with this fallen or not fallen F-16. More than anything, this ‘war’ has turned into a game of egos and I can promise you that in this fight, there will never be a winner.
So we can celebrate all we want and we can call out Indians for their misinformation, or we can move on and find a way to fix this shitty mess of affairs.
Have you seen the news? What do you think about the count of F-16s? Let us know in the comments below.
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Cover photo source: Foreign Policy/Pakistan66.com