DEPUTY Prime Minister Ishaq Dar while addressing the Pakistani community in Kuala Lumpur during his visit to Malaysia for the 32nd Ministerial Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), made a pointed remark that deserves serious reflection: the defeat inflicted by Pakistan has been difficult for the Indian political leadership to digest.
Dar noted that while on the military front, both Pakistan and India had returned to their mutually agreed positions, the Indian leadership continues to struggle with accepting the outcome. More troubling is their response—not of introspection or reconciliation—but of resorting to old habits of fabrication and jingoism.
It has become a hallmark of Indian leadership to shamelessly cling to propaganda, spinning fiction and outright lies instead of facing hard truths. This persistent denial has earned India nothing but a tarnished image in the eyes of the international community. The media and BJP leadership in India remain busy misleading their people, feeding them narratives that do not hold up to scrutiny. The world is watching—and not buying into the myth. The very face of Indian political and media rhetoric now stands exposed. Rather than facing the consequences of their failed military adventurism, Indian leaders have chosen to bury facts and mislead their own citizens. It is time India comes clean about the losses it suffered during the conflict with Pakistan. The Indian people have every right to know how many of their fighter jets were brought down. What truth is so unbearable that Indian leaders feel compelled to hide it? If they cannot be honest at home, what credibility can they claim abroad? This dishonesty does not end with denial of military losses. India’s ongoing use of proxies to carry out terrorism inside Pakistan is no longer a hidden agenda. Its transboundary crimes are well documented and have crossed well beyond the borders of Pakistan. India’s disruptive activities in the region—whether through espionage, sabotage, or direct support to terrorist elements—represent a clear threat to peace and stability in the region. The international community must no longer turn a blind eye. If rules-based order and peace are to be more than empty slogans, then India’s conduct must be scrutinized and held accountable.
