A Pakistani minister has recently repeated claims that Pakistan shot down six Indian jets during a conflict in May, despite India's denial and the absence of supporting evidence. The minister asserted that the announcement was withheld pending "concrete evidence," including video footage.

This isn't the first time Pakistani officials have made such claims. In May, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif stated that Pakistan's claim of shooting down five Indian jets, including Rafales, during India's retaliatory 'Operation Sindoor' was based on social media content. During a CNN interview, when pressed for concrete evidence, Asif cited information circulated on social media, stating the debris fell on the Indian side.

India's Press Information Bureau has previously fact-checked similar claims, exposing the disinformation. In one instance, Pakistani social media handles circulated an old, unrelated image of a crashed plane, falsely presenting it as a downed Rafale. The agency clarified the image was from an earlier incident involving an Indian Air Force MiG-21 fighter jet that crashed in Punjab in 2021.

Following the May conflict, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif rejected the Indian air chief's assertion that India shot down six Pakistani military aircraft, stating that no Pakistani aircraft was hit. According to Asif, Pakistan, in fact, destroyed six Indian jets, S-400 air defense batteries, and unmanned aircraft, while disabling several Indian airbases. He deemed the Indian Air Force chief's claims "implausible" and "ill-timed".

Asif has stated that independent observers acknowledged the loss of multiple Indian aircraft, including Rafales and that Pakistan presented detailed technical briefings to the international media immediately after the incident. He also claimed acknowledgements of this came from world leaders, senior Indian politicians, and foreign intelligence assessments.

Conversely, the Indian Air Force maintains its stance. An Indian Air Chief Marshal stated that most of the Pakistani aircraft were downed by India's Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system, citing electronic tracking data as confirmation. He stated that at least five fighters were confirmed killed, along with a large aircraft, potentially a surveillance plane, shot down at a distance of 300 km.

Amidst these conflicting claims, France's air chief, General Jerome Bellanger, reportedly stated he has seen evidence of the loss of three Indian fighters, including a Rafale. The Indian Air Force has not commented on these claims.