Imagine waking up to the truth to realize that Pakistan’s mighty army, that shining sword of the nation, has been feeding its countrymen more bullshit than is available on the cattle-market day in Sialkot. Yes, I am thinking about the trauma of an average Pakistani citizen after their firsthand experience with Operation Sindoor.
The Generic Lies busted by Operation Sindoor
For decades they have been swallowing tales of their invincible warriors (1 Pakistani soldier equals 10/20/50 Indian soldiers and so on). They have been told that their jets could split the sky; their nukes could quake the earth; their valour could make Dzengis Khan rethink his options. And then comes May of 2025 and forces most of them to scratch their beards as they perhaps wonder about the fairy tales that they have been snorting all along those years.
Technically, this remains a light scuffle as of now, for most Indians watching it closely, especially the ones that frolicked on their terrace and filmed the fireworks. I am not even talking about the east or south of India; those guys are a thousand mile away. But this could be like a gut-punch for the average Pakistani. Multiple places under random Indian drone attacks, their fabled Army city of Rawalpindi included. Air defence system of Lahore destroyed. Terrorist havens bombed.
Makes me wonder how a narrow geography like Pakistan might feel as they witness the myth of their military might crumble like a stale Lahori naan.
Specific Lies
The 1965 war? They were told that their tanks had sent India running for the covers. Their Sabres had owned the skies. Their soldiers were giants – each one of them; puny Indians did not stand a chance. Every Republic Day since then, the ISPR has been churning out videos of their boys marching like they could conquer Delhi by lunch. They said that their nukes made them ‘untouchable’. There was this old Pashtun terrain on their west providing them ‘strategic depth’, they said. They had their mujahideen friends, ready to bleed India dry.
They won all the wars; they were told. And most of them ardently believed in these stories given the way they defended this narrative on social media day and night. They were the baddest cat in the whole of South Asia. No one messed with them.
Then a highly limited strike called Operation Sindoor happened.
Pakistani response to Operation Sindoor: A Punctured Balloon
What the average Pakistani witnessed was Operation Hot Air; someone or something punctured their big, badass balloon. Their state immediately went on the TV to scream how they “crushed” India, shot down dozens of Indian fighter jets, and how they had India scamper. They did all that they could. And more.
But such has been the democratization of the internet, that once pictures of those busted wares began filling up the cyberspace, the average Lahori or Sindhi realised that Pakistani “surgical strikes” were more surgical misses that blew up rocks and goats while those that carried the assault from the Indian end remained untraceable. They had perhaps reached home by then and were playing ludo with their kids before Pakistani Army realised what hit them.
They were told that their Chinese gear was top of the line stuff. Turns out that they folded faster than those knock-off Bolle shades that sell in Peshawar flea markets. They were told about their nukes and about “escalation dominance”. But now their army remains scared to even whisper the N word because India – clearly fed-up with their nonsense – doesn’t seem to be interested in blinking first. I feel for these guys. They sure are making those funny videos, and they are filling X Space with hilarious chat sessions, but their laugh looks like the kind where they check if their heart’s still beating.
Paki “Jarnails”
And what’s worse? Their generals, forever strutting like prized roosters, who built this myth that they were Allah’s chosen warriors – the only nation capable of carrying the global Islamic ummah on their shoulders. Every subsequent coup, every “national security” speech that they fed the average Pakistani drew inspiration from this very idea.
Meanwhile their economy is dead and gone, their schools have become zombie factories, and their allies are down to “loaning” pocket expenses which the Pakistan Army spends buying those sorry excuses for “weapons”. All along, the generals feed them wonderful stories about how they have India in a chokehold. But they witness India building business corridors to Middle East and Europe, as the Indian Army continues to kill their irregulars with regular precision – Kargil or Balakot. Potholes of Karachi, electricity failures all around the country, or severe foodgrain scarcity every now and then does nothing to take away the shine off those generals’ boots or hamper their swagger. They photoshop “victories” as the idea of Pakistan dies rapidly.
The Fairy Tales Crushed by Operation Sindoor
Am I sorry? Hell no. A leader is only the reflection of the people he/she leads. Besides, a garrison-state has only one destiny: wither and die as their utility fades. But… I feel quizzical.
How might the average Pakistani be feeling? Conned by a ghazal singer who promised Jannat but delivered a cheap hangover? The army that they worshipped turning out to be a dummy shell that is more eager to preserve their feudalism. That “sword of Islam,” transforming into a rusty old blade, propped up by lies and their national television montages.
Are they chuckling at their mighty army? At those “jarnails”? Or are they laughing at themselves for having swallowed fairy tales for more than five decades? Well, what do I know.
