Pakistan Air Force undisputed king? India fact-checks article. Here is the truth

India-Pakistan conflict: Is Pakistan Air Force the ‘undisputed king of the skies’? That's what a report claims.

The report, masquerading as a front-page story, ostensibly from the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph — has been debunked by the Indian government after it surfaced online, hailing the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) as “the undisputed king of the skies.”

The viral image, styled to appear as a 10 May edition of The Daily Telegraph, claimed unnamed "experts" described the PAF as “feared, respected, and remarkably efficient". The fanfare, however, didn’t fly for long.

What did the ‘false’ report claim?

In a fact-check issued on Friday morning via X (formerly Twitter), the Indian government pulled the plug on the doctored document, revealing the image being circulated is actually AI-generated.

“This claim is false. The image being circulated is AI-generated. The Daily Telegraph has NEVER carried any such article,” the Press Information Bureau's Fact Check division posted on X, along with a screenshot of the “false” report.

Pakistan's foreign minister hails ‘fake’ claim

The fanfare for Pakistan being hailed as the “undisputed king of the skies” does not stop just there. In an awkward twist, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar even found himself in the spotlight after citing the fabricated Daily Telegraph article in the Senate — a move that was flagged both by India and even by Pakistan's newspaper — The Dawn.

“By endorsing a completely fabricated image and headline, Pakistan intentionally lent official weight to a piece of digital deception,” PIB Fact Check posted on X.

BJP's Amit Malviya takes a swipe at Pakistan

Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar's misstep didn’t go unnoticed in India. BJP’s Amit Malviya seized the moment, branding Dar’s remarks as a “blatant attempt to save face”. 

Taking a swipe at the over-the-top praise for the Pakistan Air Force, Amit Malviya added, “The claim was so outrageous that even Dawn, Pakistan’s own leading daily, had to step in and debunk it.”

Pakistan Air Force being hailed as the “undisputed king of the skies” is just one of the false reports that has been junked by India. Days after Operation Sindoor, under which India targeted nine terror beds across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), and the subsequent attacks from Pakistan, several fake reports have been doing the rounds on social media.