"Treating India Right": Pak Minister's Shocker On Haris Rauf's '6-0' Gesture

New Delhi:

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has defended cricketer Haris Rauf regarding the contentious '6-0' gesture displayed during Sunday's Asia Cup cricket match against India.

The incident occurred when fast bowler Rauf engaged in a confrontation with Indian openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill. His gesture allegedly references Pakistan's unverified claims of downing six Indian fighter jets without reciprocation during Operation Sindoor.

Endorsing a post by Daily Times columnist Ayab Ahmed, Mr. Asif stated in Urdu, "Haris Rauf is treating them right. Keep it up. Cricket matches keep happening... but 6-0 will not be forgotten by India until the Judgement Day, and the world will remember it too."

Ahmed additionally shared footage showing Rauf mimicking aircraft being shot down with the caption "Haris Rauf bringing Bharat back to its senses!" accompanied by the Pakistani flag and a grinning emoji.

Pakistan's assertions about shooting down six Indian fighter jets remain unverified, with no substantiating evidence provided beyond governmental statements.

Contradicting these claims, Indian Air Force Chief AP Singh declared in August that it was actually Pakistan that lost six military aircraft during the conflict.

At a Bengaluru event, Air Chief Marshal Singh specified that five Pakistani fighter jets and a "large aircraft," possibly for surveillance purposes, were neutralized. The latter, eliminated at a 300km range, represented the "largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill," according to him.

Without identifying specific aircraft types, he mentioned that India's airstrikes also damaged a surveillance plane and "a few United States-made F-16" fighters stationed at two southeastern Pakistani air bases.

The Air Chief Marshal added that India inflicted sufficient damage to convince Pakistan they would sustain further losses if hostilities continued, prompting their ceasefire request.

Responding via X, Pakistan's defence minister accused India of dishonesty, challenging: "If the truth is in question, let both sides open their aircraft inventories to independent verification - though we suspect this would lay bare the reality India seeks to obscure."

He further stated, "Such comical narratives, crafted for domestic political expediency, increase the grave risks of strategic miscalculation in a nuclearised environment."

The nearly 100-hour military confrontation in early May marked the first between India and Pakistan since the 1971 war. It began after Pakistan retaliated against Indian airstrikes targeting nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

India maintains that terrorists supported by Pakistan—specifically from The Resistance Front, a Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot—executed the attack that claimed 26 lives, predominantly civilians.