Pakistani officials accused India of deliberately spreading false claims about the use of a Shaheen ballistic missile during recent military tensions, suggesting it was part of a calculated effort to support New Delhi’s post-conflict diplomatic campaign and shape global perceptions.
Officials said the alleged disinformation was designed to exploit fears of nuclear escalation and distract from India’s aggressive actions during Operation Sindoor. They argue that the narrative reinforced India’s image as a responsible global actor while casting Pakistan as a nuclear provocateur — despite a lack of evidence.
“The claim that Pakistan employed Shaheen-class ballistic missiles during the recent crisis appears rooted in a broader Indian — and now Western — effort to frame Islamabad as having crossed a nuclear red line,” a senior Pakistani official said.
The controversy stems from a video released — and later quietly deleted — by the Indian Army’s Western Command, which featured visuals of a Shaheen missile. Although New Delhi never officially confirmed any missile use, the footage fueled speculation in Indian media that Pakistan had deployed a nuclear-capable system.
Pakistani officials dismissed the suggestion as an act of information warfare. They said the narrative conveniently coincided with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s diplomatic visits to the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, along with coordinated outreach by Indian delegations to other key international capitals.
“The timing of this false narrative says it all,” the official remarked. “It aligned perfectly with India’s global lobbying push, designed to craft a narrative of restraint and unity in the face of supposed terror threats.”
He added that the objective was twofold: to present India as a responsible actor responding to nuclear intimidation, and to depict Pakistan as dangerously reckless — a reversal of the actual conduct during the crisis.
Further fueling the speculation, Indian media pointed to an alleged Pakistani strike on Sarsawa Air Base — a critical Indian military installation over 400 kilometers from the border. Given its distance, some analysts cited this as “evidence” that Pakistan used a longer-range missile.
However, Pakistani officials strongly rejected the claim, noting that Sarsawa lies well outside the range of conventional Pakistani munitions but affirming that no Shaheen-class systems were ever deployed.
The Foreign Office also issued a categorical denial, calling the Indian allegations “baseless and provocative,” and reaffirming that no nuclear-capable missiles were used during Operation Bunyanum Marsoos.
