ISPR Rejects ‘Bollywood-Style’ Op Sindoor Documentary, Says India Cannot Rewrite Its Defeat

Rawalpindi: Pakistan’s armed forces have strongly rejected India’s portrayal of Operation Sindoor as a military success, accusing New Delhi of using a heavily dramatised documentary to reshape the narrative surrounding the May 2025 conflict and conceal what Pakistan describes as India’s battlefield setbacks.

In a strongly worded statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said India had failed to come to terms with the outcome of the confrontation and was now attempting to present a politically convenient version of events through what it described as a “highly dramatised” and factually inaccurate production.

The military’s media wing said the documentary relied on selective interviews, emotional narration and Bollywood-style cinematic reconstruction rather than presenting an objective account of the conflict.

ISPR Questions India’s Version of Pahalgam Timeline

ISPR highlighted what it described as a major contradiction in the documentary’s narrative surrounding the Pahalgam incident.

According to the Pakistani military’s statement, India attempted to establish a connection between an address by Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff on April 16, 2025, and the Pahalgam incident on April 22, portraying the sequence as evidence of a pre-planned conspiracy.

Pakistan has rejected such allegations.

ISPR further questioned India’s claim that the alleged perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack were identified and eliminated on July 28, 2025.

“If the alleged perpetrators were eliminated on 28 July, India must explain who it claims to have punished on 7 May 2025,” ISPR said.

The statement argued that the timeline itself undermines India’s attempt to portray Operation Sindoor as a direct punishment of those responsible for the Pahalgam attack.

Pakistan Rejects India’s ‘100% Mission Success’ Claim

ISPR also dismissed India’s claim of achieving “100% mission success”, saying the operational record did not support such a portrayal.

According to Pakistan’s military, the armed forces successfully confronted Indian aggression during Marka-e-Haq and shot down eight Indian military aircraft.

Pakistan subsequently launched Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, using precision-guided rockets and missiles, Pakistan Air Force precision munitions, long-range loitering munitions and precision artillery against 26 military targets.

ISPR said the targets included facilities allegedly used against Pakistani citizens as well as entities accused by Pakistan of supporting terrorism.

The military’s media wing maintained that these operations demonstrated Pakistan’s ability to respond effectively to Indian military action.

Indian Military Statements Raise Questions

ISPR further argued that the documentary itself contains statements that undermine its portrayal of an overwhelming Indian victory.

According to the Pakistani military, Indian military officials acknowledged extensive Pakistani missile, drone and air activity during the confrontation, along with sustained engagements along the Line of Control and the activation of Indian air-defence systems.

ISPR said such admissions were difficult to reconcile with the documentary’s repeated portrayal of Pakistan as decisively defeated.

The Pakistani military argued that the evidence presented by India itself indicates that the conflict involved intense military engagements rather than an uncontested Indian operation.

Ceasefire Narrative Also Challenged

ISPR also challenged India’s account of how hostilities ended.

According to the Pakistani military, the documentary itself acknowledges that the fighting ended following communication between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries and an agreement to cease military action.

ISPR said this contradicted any attempt to portray Operation Sindoor as a unilateral Indian victory.

The military’s media wing also pointed to the role of the United States in facilitating the cessation of hostilities, arguing that an internationally facilitated ceasefire cannot subsequently be presented as evidence of unconditional military victory.

‘Propaganda Cannot Change Battlefield Record’

ISPR accused India of attempting to transform what Pakistan considers a military setback into a domestically acceptable success story.

“India has not declassified the truth. It has cobbled together a propaganda video to project a military blunder as a successful endeavour,” the statement said.

The Pakistani military argued that cinematic reconstruction could not alter the chronology of events, aircraft losses, military casualties or the actual engagements that took place.

Pakistan, ISPR said, had no need to manufacture a narrative around Marka-e-Haq because the operational record, battlefield evidence, diplomatic exchanges and subsequent statements from India itself provided sufficient grounds for assessing what happened.

Pakistan Reaffirms Readiness

ISPR reaffirmed Pakistan’s stated commitment to regional peace and stability while stressing that the country’s armed forces remained prepared to defend Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests.

The military warned that any future military misadventure would receive a firm and decisive response.

The confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours lasted four days in May 2025 after India conducted strikes inside Pakistan on May 7, following the deadly Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

India described its military action as Operation Sindoor, while Pakistan responded with Operation Bunyanum Marsoos on May 10.

The hostilities ended the same day after then-US President Donald Trump announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to a ceasefire.

The latest ISPR statement has once again brought the competing narratives of the 2025 confrontation into focus, with Pakistan rejecting New Delhi’s attempt to portray Operation Sindoor as an unambiguous victory and accusing the Modi government of relying on cinematic propaganda rather than confronting the battlefield record.