After the victory

Pakistan’s gains go far beyond the battlefield. India has lost more than just six aircraft. Welcome to the dawn of a new era.

This era in South Asia will now be defined by greater hostility, increasing threats and enhanced prospects of conflict. Pakistan has given India a bloody nose. This is arguably the biggest humiliation India has suffered in decades. For Pakistan Operation Bunyan al Marsoos represents arguably the greatest military victory over India. This is indeed a defining moment for both countries, for the region, and in many ways for the world.

The nature of Pakistan’s victory needs to first be cleansed from the fog of war. As the adrenaline subsides and the post-conflict dust settles down, both countries will begin to absorb – and possibly acknowledge – the extent of the damage wreaked upon each other. It is this cold and calculated assessment that should become the basis of how we move forward from here and navigate through fresh Pakistan-India dynamics in the post-Pahalgam period.

Pakistan’s victory is not measured in material terms alone. What transpired in the time between Indian missile attacks on Pakistan and the ceasefire on Saturday is truly a remarkable series of events that have shocked India and even surprised Pakistan. The narrative spawned by these events – fuelled by ingredients that people did not know could come into play – is now cementing the perception that Pakistan won and India lost.

Here’s what we know in terms of damage: India destroyed some mosques in its first missile attack and martyred more than two dozen innocent Pakistanis including children. Later in the conflict it fired missiles at some PAF bases and damaged infrastructure and an aircraft that should be operational soon, as per the military spokesman.

Pakistan destroyed India’s six aircraft, including three Rafales. Then in the counterstrike, we targeted more than two dozen of their air bases as well as brigade headquarters and inflicted serious damage to all. More importantly, we annihilated their famed Russian-made S-400 air defence system. In addition, we downed more than 70 Indian drones.

Even if we were to factor in enhancement and suppression of information, and even if we were to – for argument’s sake – state that damage to respective air bases was quasi-equivalent (being charitable to Indian claims), the unmistakable Pakistani victory is still evident in terms of PAF besting IAF and downing Indian jets and destroying their S-400 air defence system. There can be no debate on these aspects.

But this is just the start.

India may buy new Rafale jets from France, and it may purchase another S-400 air defence system from Russia, and it will surely repair its damaged military infrastructure. This much is given. But what it cannot buy, and what it cannot repair is the crushing blow to its image, its brand, and its aspirations as a net security provider for the region.

This humbling of Brand India is a story that weaves through the collective and individual failures of the Indian government, Indian air force, Indian media and also, to a great deal, Indian society. In a span of a few weeks – starting from the Pahalgam killings – India has lost initiatives, lost jets, lost credibility and lost face.

This was a needless conflict, with needless destruction and needless loss of precious lives. But Narendra Modi pushed for it, as did their war-mongering media and public opinion that was visible beyond India’s borders. They collectively bayed for blood. Pakistani blood. They did so because perhaps unbeknownst to them, they had become prisoners of their own rhetoric, and victims of their own delusions. The entire country, it seemed, had gone into a trance that divorced it from reality.

This trance was shattered when Pakistan’s J-10C-fired PL15 missile smashed into an Indian Rafale. And then the second. And third. Within an hour five Indian aircraft – along with a nation’s delusions – had crashed into the ground in a heap of burning metal and flamed out egos.

Indians that should know, know that India has been defeated. As hours turn into days and days into weeks, other Indians’ delusions will turn into denial, denial into anger, and anger into depression. Yes, there will descend onto the entire Indian society a blanket of depression that may – one hopes – finally trigger some soul searching and introspection. Such an introspection should lead to a gradual realization of a reality that has emerged in the wake of the conflict: India is less than what Indians believe, and Pakistan is more than they acknowledge. Today they stand diminished. We stand taller.

But we also need to acknowledge a reality: Pakistan and India will now live in a perpetual state of hostility for as long as one can foresee. We need to be clear and consistent in our policy. This policy requires us to understand that we need to now invest in our air force and our missile programmes, and in all other areas of modern warfare where we have excelled in this conflict. Where will the money come from? That’s where the real challenge for our leaders lies. Focus on the economy, reallocate funds, prioritise budgets for immediate challenges and, above all, leverage this victory for internal and external reform.

One victory done. Now let us start preparing for the next one.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025