Islamabad, Pakistan – In Pakistan, May began with streets in major cities dotted with banners and posters honouring the military leadership that, in the official telling, guided the country’s defences and led the nation to victory in the four-day aerial war with India last year.At the Nur Khan Auditorium in the city of Rawalpindi on Thursday, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) held a ceremony marking its “achievements” in downing Indian jets. In Lahore on Friday evening, a government-organised concert at the city’s Liberty Chowk celebrated the conflict’s success in what Pakistan calls the “Day of the Battle of Truth”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listBut across the border, India, too, is celebrating what its government and military insist was a victory for them. On Thursday, May 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi changed his profile picture on X to the official logo of Operation Sindoor, India’s name for the May 2025 military operation against Pakistan, and urged every Indian to do the same. “A year ago, our armed forces displayed unparalleled courage, precision and resolve,” Modi wrote on X. “Today, we remain as steadfast as ever in our resolve to defeat terrorism and destroy its enabling ecosystem.”Both governments put their militaries before the cameras. At a news conference lasting more than two hours in New Delhi, Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti said India had “destroyed 13 Pakistani aircraft” and “struck 11 airfields”.Meanwhile, in Rawalpindi, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media arm of Pakistan’s armed forces, told reporters that the country had defeated an enemy …
