On this day in 2019, Indian air force was ridiculed for claiming fake surgical strike in Balakot

ISLAMABAD – Four years back, Indian military jets violated the Line of Control (LoC), intruded from the Muzaffarabad sector but swift response the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) panicked neighbors who dropped payload in haste.

New Delhi then claimed a surgical strike on terror camps which only damaged some trees and a dead crow. Doctored clips were peddled on social media to prove it however Pakistan unearthed the false claims with strong evidences.

Indian media, which was left red-faced, and faced severe trolling claimed the alleged ‘surgical strike’ was in retaliation to the Pulwama attack but it turned out that Indian government staged the Pulwama attack and then the Feb 26 failed surgical strike for media publicity to appease voters.

Four years after the iconic incident, Pakistan still remembers the cowardly act of India and marks the day with hilarious tweets and trolls.

Four years ago Indian Airforce attacked Balakot. I reached the mountain top of Jabba next day and found a dead body there. #Balakot https://t.co/zj3WPdMD30

— Hamid Mir حامد میر (@HamidMirPAK) February 26, 2023

On this day, Mighty Pakistan Air Force shot down 2 warplanes and took one of their pilots as POV of a country that was seven times bigger than itself. Never underestimate the power of Pakistan.

The Tea Was Fantastic 😉

— Sehar Shinwari (@SeharShinwari) February 26, 2023

We never took India for granted. Our tea was fantastic is evidence of the the same https://t.co/1NlwWI0dvV

— Abuzar Salman Niazi (@SalmanKNiazi1) February 26, 2023

On February 27, 2019, India's #Abhinandan was captured and later released after the Pakistan Air Force took down #IndianAirForce jets in a dogfight

It has been 4 years, but the tea is still fantastic! #SurpriseWithFantasticTea#27Feb #PakistanZindabad #PakArmyZindabad pic.twitter.com/is5avRcKcn

— 𝓘𝓇𝒻𝒶𝓃 𝓑𝒶𝒷𝒶𝓃 (@irfanbaban41) February 25, 2023

پاکستان کی سب سے مشہور چائے آج بھی ابھینندن کی چائے ہی ہے
Even today, the most famous tea of ​​Pakistan is Abhinandan's tea#SurpriseDay #Tea_is_Fantastic #PAF_Our_Pride #IAF #PakistanFirst #Pakistan #India pic.twitter.com/1n6MgsPSNy

— Sonia Khan (@_SoniaSpeaks) February 25, 2023

THE TEA WAS FANTASTIC 😂! pic.twitter.com/KX3qvk8rRj

— Rana Ahmed (@Ranaahmed202018) February 26, 2023

Neither Indian army nor govt was able to prove their claims! Confusion was prevalent in their briefings and they say it happened! JoKE. #IndianSurgicalDrama pic.twitter.com/ig5FoQmBPw

— Tea Was Fantastic🇵🇰☕ (@TwasFantastik) February 26, 2023

In previous years, British news agency Reuters among several top media prganisation trashed Indian claims and submitted high-resolution satellite images showing buildings which India claimed its warplanes had hit in Balakot killing a large number of "militants" still standing at the site.

For the unversed, a day after Indian fighter jets claimed to have hit a militant camp in Pakistan’s northwestern region, the next morning saw retaliation from the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

Following a dog fight, Islamabad captured one Indian pilot – no other than Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who praised the professionalism of Pakistan Army but denied to share any sensitive information.

Abhinandan’s warplane, hit by Wing Commander Nauman Ali Khan, was crashed on Pakistani side of the Line of Control, while the second IAF fighter jet Sukhoi Su-30, which was downed by Sqn Leader Hassan Siddiqui, landed on the Indian side. Pakistan later handed over the IAF pilot to India authorities as a gesture of goodwill, never acknowledged by the hardline Hindu government in New Delhi.