In a decisive move, Pakistan’s formidable response, as illuminated by CNN journalist Nick Robertson, forced India into an abrupt retreat following Indian provocations.
The sky bore witness to intense missile downpours that showered Indian military sectors, air bases, and ordnance depots, plunging India into a state of defensive turmoil and indecision on how to proceed further. Faced with escalating tensions, Indian leaders scrambled for diplomatic solutions, involving the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey while highlighting the significance of Pakistan’s water rights.
BBC’s renowned South Asia journalist, Ambrosan Ethirajan, observed that Pakistan has entrenched itself as a resilient and triumphant force. American journalist Nick Robertson further reported that, after India targeted three Pakistani air bases, Pakistan launched a relentless missile and rocket barrage aimed precisely at undermining Indian military infrastructure.
According to a source privy to top-level negotiations, CNN learned that Pakistan temporarily practiced ‘military silence’ to pursue diplomatic overtures. Nevertheless, once India undertook aggression against the Pakistani air bases, Pakistan orchestrated a comprehensive military offensive, revealing its extensive military capabilities and prompting India to urgently reach out to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as Saudi and Turkish officials, in a desperate plea for intervention.
An anonymous U.S. official conveyed to Reuters a robust conviction that Pakistan employed the Chinese-manufactured J-10 jets to launch air-to-air attacks on Indian fighter aircraft, successfully destroying at least two.
A separate official cited that one downed Indian jet was a French-produced Rafale aircraft. In the aftermath, Dassault Aviation, the French company behind Rafale jets, experienced an 11 percent drop in shares over two days following Pakistan’s assertion of downing numerous Indian jets, including Rafales, amid recent border tensions.
New: A high-ranking French intelligence official told CNN that one Rafale fighter jet operated by the Indian Air Force was downed by Pakistan, in what would mark the first time that one of the sophisticated French-made warplanes has been lost in combat.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) May 7, 2025
Pakistan claimed earlier… https://t.co/ixmULw1HXX