ISLAMABAD — The Pakistan Air Force held a ceremony at the Nur Khan Auditorium in Rawalpindi on Thursday, May 7, 2026, marking its achievements in downing Indian jets during the four-day aerial conflict between the two countries in May 2025. The event came one year after the start of hostilities that saw both nuclear-armed neighbors exchange strikes across their shared frontier.

Speaking to reporters in Rawalpindi, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said, "We defeated an enemy five times larger than ourselves and have shown only 10 percent of our military potential." He added, "We are prepared. If anyone wants to test us, they are welcome to do so."

In May 2026, streets in major Pakistani cities displayed banners and posters honoring military leadership that, according to official accounts, guided the country's defenses and led it to victory in the May 2025 war. The ceremony in Rawalpindi marked one year since Pakistan's J-10C jets shot down Indian aircraft, including Rafales, on the night of May 6-7, 2025.

The conflict followed an April 22, 2025 attack in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, in which gunmen killed 26 civilians. India blamed the attack on Pakistan, an accusation Islamabad rejected. India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty on April 23, 2025.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, striking multiple sites deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. India said the strikes targeted terrorist infrastructure, while Pakistani officials said civilians bore the brunt of the assault. Pakistan retaliated with Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos.

At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June 2025, General Anil Chauhan acknowledged jet losses on the first day of the fighting. Indian BrahMos long-range missiles struck multiple Pakistani airbases during the conflict, including Nur Khan in Rawalpindi and Bholari in Sindh province. India also used Israeli-made drones that penetrated as far as Karachi and Lahore.

Maxar, now renamed Vantor, and Planet Labs released satellite imagery documenting damage at Pakistani military installations. Neither company released imagery of Indian military sites allegedly struck by Pakistan during or after the conflict. Pakistani losses during the fighting were subjected to open-source scrutiny, while Indian losses were not.