Pakistan's security official claims 125 IAF, PAF fighter jets battled for over an hour in 'longest dogfight' of aviation history
The compound of a mosque building damaged by Indian missile attack, near Bahawalpur, a city in Pakistan's Punjab province | AP
A Pakistani security source has claimed that over 125 Indian Air Force and Pakistan Air Force fighter jets were engaged in a "dog fight" that spanned over an hour in the early hours of Wednesday during Operation Sindhoor.
The unsubstantiated claim was made by an unnamed senior Pakistani security source to CNN. However, CNN nor any other international media houses have confirmed the claims.
The official claimed Pakistan downed five Indian planes in the dog fight, which was "one of the largest and longest in recent aviation history". India has not yet confirmed these claims and has even gone on to debunk false claims by Pakistan, including footage. The officials have also called out Pakistan for its disinformation campaign.
The Pakistani official told CNN that the missile exchanges happened at distances sometimes greater than 160 kilometres (100 miles), and neither side breached the borders. He attributed this to the 2019 incident wherein Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman was apprehended.
Pakistan's claim is that it downed Indian jets around 2:45 am while the third one, a Rafale aircraft, was downed an hour later. Hours later, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif claimed Pakistan downed four and fifth Indian jets after 5 am.
He claimed, without giving any evidence, that Indian fighter jets took multiple runs at targets. The official added that Pakistan had warned civilians in advance and hence could minimise civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that national security advisers of Pakistan and India have spoken after Operation Sindhoor. "There has been contact between the two, yes," he told TRT World, but refused to give more details.
Prime Minister Shehbaz too, had claimed without giving evidence that the Pakistan armed forces destroyed five Indian jets. He lauded the Pakistan Air Force and its chief "for the swift response" and claimed that the armed forces had prior intelligence about India's plans. Shehbaz claimed that India "paid a heavy price" for attacking Pakistan despite its numerical superiority and strength, despite later bemoaning that over 31 civilians died in the attacks.
Defence