10 May 2025, was a watershed moment in the history of subcontinent when India had to come crashing down from the throne of arrogance and conceit and literally beg to the Foreign Ministers of the USA, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the British High Commissioner for negotiating a ceasefire with Pakistan (CNN).
It took a bit of bashing in military, diplomatic, political and information warfare domains at the hands of Pakistan to break false sense of power and compel India to move from ‘no talks’ to offering talks to Pakistan.
Following on its old playbook of maligning Pakistan and winning political gains through false flag operations (this time it was Pahalgam), Modi’s India launched air strikes against number of mosques and religious schools inside Pakistan between the night of 6 and 7 May 2025.
It was a direct military attack on a nuclear state, blatant act of aggression and violation of the global order and the UNO charter.
However, during the fateful night of air strikes, the entire world witnessed shattering of India’s idol of invincibility.
According to The Telegraph, the combat night turned out to be ‘nightmare for the Indian Air Force’, as it witnessed some interesting events and number of ‘first times’.
It was historically the most intensely fought air battle in a relatively limited airspace where more than 70 most advanced fighter aircraft (Rafale, SU-30, Mir-2000, Jaguar, Mig-29, Mig-21 Bison) supported by force multipliers (AWACS, AAR) of IAF were pitched against over two dozen PAF fighter aircraft.
It was the largest ever air combat involving over 100 Gen-4 and 4+ aircraft carrying long range Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles and avionics, fighting to overpower each other.
PAF made a powerful statement by decisively winning the air battle, brought down 03 x Rafale, 01 x SU-30 and Mig-29 each, and 01 x UCAV, with no losses.
The outcome made IAF insecure and for the next three days IAF pulled back upto 300 km (The Telegraph) virtually providing air superiority to PAF.
Though both the air forces had qualitative parity against each other however IAF had clear numerical advantage while PAF had the first shot capability.
Critical analysis of the results of air battle reveals presence of few distinct factors within the PAF which may be attributed to the lopsided results.
Firstly, it is the perpetuity of visionary leadership who always remained at least a decade ahead in visualizing the role of air power.
Secondly, it has been the ever-evolving training mechanism which always hinged upon achievement of excellence while fighting outnumbered.
Thirdly, focusing on quality instead of quantity to offset the numerical disadvantage and scarcity of resources.
Fourthly, concentrating on indigenization to achieve self-reliance in acquiring critical military hardware and niche capabilities and Finally, uninterrupted pursuit of cutting-edge technological advancements and their cultural adaptation as system of systems.
The recent conflict with India has provided Pakistan with number of silver linings and notions of victory which can be optimally exploited to negotiate from the position of strength.
In line with the Quid Pro Quo plus strategy, Pakistan should adopt three pronged strategy: (i) pass resolutions from its Provincial and Federal parliaments and declare Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as terrorist organizations; (ii) Pakistan should move UNSC for adopting a resolution declaring India as the epicentre and a country exporting terrorism to regional and NATO countries; (iii) Pakistan should also move FATF to black list India for sponsoring and financing terror network.
In order to maximize benefits from the negotiations, Pakistan may pursue and push for: (i) The USA to become the guarantor for trilateral negotiations till resolution of Kashmir issue in accordance with UNSC resolutions; (ii) Immediate revoking of Article 370 and 35A and restoration of special status of IIOJ&K by India; (iii) Immediate and unconditional resumption of Indus Water Treaty in true letter and spirit in line with the original agreement mediated by the World Bank; (iv) India to tender official apology to the people of Pakistan for levying baseless allegations of spreading terrorism and imposing war; (v) Establishing trilateral mechanism to jointly investigate terrorism related incidents starting from the Pahalgam incident; (vi) Imposition of 25 years moratorium armed conflict/war in South Asia.
The air battle was the exhibition of advanced tactics and optimum utilization of technology to achieve first shot while denying the same to adversary in a heavily contested air space.
It was the first ever direct pitching of the Chinese technology against the western technological prowess.
The results were stunning and sent shock waves across IAF and the western manufacturers.
It was not only a tactical triumph but beginning of the new era.
It saw the introduction of non-contact warfare and use of drones and long-range vectors that blurred the boundaries between the Offensive and Defensive Counter Air Operations.
It challenged decades old technological superiority of the western manufacturers to revisit compatibility of their products with fast rising Chinese Technologies.
It was the tech war that witnessed high end exhibition of multidomain operations and the result was a 6-0 victory for PAF.
Air War Universities across the globe would teach this air battle to their future leadership as the case study.
It can be concluded that, ‘Pakistan Air Force has emerged as the king of the skies in the region – feared, respected, and remarkably efficient’ and provided foundation for building peace in the region.
—The writer is a retired Air Officer from the PAF and currently serving at the DHA Suffa University (DSU), Karachi. (xahid31@gmail.com)
