Claim: Amid the ongoing military escalation between India and Pakistan, DG ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed the loss of two JF-17 aircraft in a press conference held on the night of 8 May.
Fact: The video is altered. Moreover, there is no evidence to suggest that the DG ISPR or Government of Pakistan has admitted losing two JF-17 aircraft as of 8 May 2025. Audio analysis using Resemble Detect also flagged the audio in the clip as fake.
A video shared with Soch Fact Check via WhatsApp shows a press conference by the DG ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry giving an update after Operation Sindoor and detailing losses. He begins addressing the media by saying:
“Thank you for being with us today. Following the developments of Operation Sindoor. We find it important to offer transparency and reaffirm our enduring commitment to regional stability. The operation saw intense engagement along the eastern corridor. We regret to confirm that two JF-17 aircraft were lost during active duty. Yeh nuqsaan humaray liyay sirf numbers nahi, ek jazbaati dhakka hai. We also suffered damage to civilian infrastructure and casualties among our brave service members.
He further stated:
“Shaheedon ke ghar walon ke liyay humari duaein hain, their sacrifice will always be honoured.
In the Pahalgam axis, significant tactical shifts were observed. The situation is still developing and we are monitoring it closely. Strategic consequences saamnay aa rahay hain and we are prepared to respond accordingly.
Let me say this clearly. Pakistan does not believe in war. Hamnay har dafa sabr se kaam liya hai despite serious provocations. Our aim has never been escalation, but stability and peace. Sovereignty ka tahaffuz hamari zimmedari hai, but so is our role in ensuring a peaceful future for the region. We urge our counterparts, choose dialogue over aggression. Jang ka bojh sirf sipahi nahi uthata, har ghar uthata hai. Pakistan stands for regional peace, mutual dignity, and the principles of iInternational conduct. Aman ka rasta mushkil zarur hai, lekin zarur-”
Some Indian news outlets shared the contents of the video in news reports, which can be viewed here (archive), and here (archive).
Indian airstrikes in Pakistan
In the early hours of 7 May, the Indian military launched Operation Sindoor and targeted various locations inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, killing at least 31 people and wounding 57 others, according to Pakistani authorities. At least three children were killed by the strikes.
The attacks marked the most expansive military action between the two nations since 1971.
Pakistan military’s media-wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has said civilian areas in at least six locations — including Ahmedpur East, Muridke, Sialkot, Shakargarh, Kotli, and Muzaffarabad — were targeted.
India, however, alleged it targeted nine “terrorist camps”, a claim which has not yet been independently verified. Pakistan, on the other hand, has asserted that these sites are densely populated civilian areas. Emerging footage and on-ground reporting shows that civilians, including women and children, were injured in the attack, which lends credibility to Pakistan’s assertions that civilian areas were harmed, contrary to claims made by Indian officials. Soch Fact Check also independently confirmed deaths of several civilians in Bahawalpur, including two children.
Notably, military strikes in Pakistani Punjab are across a recognised international border and constitute a major escalation relative to the surgical strikes carried out along the Line of Control (LoC), the ceasefire line that divides Pakistan-administered Kashmir from Indian-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the airstrikes, saying his country “has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India”.
The Pahalgam Attack
India claims its strikes were a response to the terror attack in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir on 22 April, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
Indian officials linked the attack to Pakistan, but Islamabad has denied the claim. The Resistance Front – a group that Indian officials maintain is a proxy front for the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) – initially claimed responsibility for that attack but later retracted its statement.
Pakistan demanded a neutral investigation, asserting that India has not provided any evidence to support its allegations of Pakistan’s involvement in the attack.
The Indus Waters Treaty
Soon after the attack on tourists in Pahalgam, New Delhi announced the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, which has been in place since 1960 and has survived two wars between the neighbouring nuclear countries. Pakistan stated that attempts to stop or divert Pakistan’s water would be considered an “act of war and responded with full force across the complete spectrum of national power”.
On Tuesday, after a UNSC meeting to discuss the matter, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Now, India’s water will flow for India’s benefit, it will be conserved for India’s benefit, and it will be used for India’s progress”.
Pakistan and International response to Indian attack
Hours after Indian strikes hit multiple Pakistani locations, the Pakistani military announced that they had brought down five Indian jets. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif informed Bloomberg TV that the country shot down five Indian jets and multiple unmanned aerial vehicles, along with destroying checkposts at the Line of Control (LoC). Indian officials apparently acknowledged that three of their “fighter jets” had “crashed” within their territory, Reuters (archive) and New York Times (archive) reported on 7 May 2025.
According to a press release issued by the Press Information Department (PID), after Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC) convened on the morning of 7 May, India also targeted the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project.
“The international media personnel had already visited these ‘imaginary terrorist camps’ on 6 May 2025 and more visits were planned for 7 May 2025,” the press release said.
After the Pahalgam incident, “Pakistan made a sincere offer for a credible, transparent and neutral investigation, which unfortunately was not accepted” by India, it added.
The NSC also authorised the armed forces “to undertake corresponding actions” following the 7 May strikes by India.
The UN Secretary General António Guterres urged both India and Pakistan to exercise military restraint, adding that “the world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan.”
The same day, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting with senior federal ministers but has so far not made any public comments since the airstrikes, according to CNN.
Following India’s attack on Pakistan, multiple countries issued statements, with Russia saying it was “deeply concerned” about the escalation, China noting that it “regrets” New Delhi’s military action and urging “restraint”, the US stating that it hoped the conflict “ends very quickly”, and the UK promising that it will “stand ready” to assist in deescalating tensions between the two countries.
A surge of unverified claims and disinformation has circulated on social media since the Pahalgam terror attack, and it has spiked sharply after India launched missile strikes into Pakistani territory early Wednesday morning.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check suspected the video is fake as no such footage of the press conference had been broadcast on local news channels or state-run PTV as of 8 May 2025.
We first reviewed footage of all the press conferences held by the DG ISPR since the Pahalgam attack, uploaded by credible media outlets or on ISPR’s official YouTube channel. However, we did not find any instances of the press conference being shared in the claim or the DG ISPR admitting to Pakistan losing two JF-17 fighter jets in all the existing press conference footage. Therefore, the video seemed to be altered.
We then conducted a keyword search using the terms “DG ISPR,” “Operation Sindoor,” “losses,” and “JF-17” but did not find any relevant news reports from credible local or international news outlets. No statements or press releases confirming the loss of two of Pakistan’s JF-17 fighter jets have been issued by the Government of Pakistan, the Pakistan Army’s media wing ISPR, or any other official state authorities as of 8 May 2025.
Furthermore, we noted that Lieutenant Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry’s voice in this clip did not sound like or match his original voice. Therefore, to check the authenticity of the video, we analysed its audio using Resemble Detect, a tool designed for real-time detection of deepfake audio across various media types, which rated the audio as “fake.”
Virality
The video was shared widely on WhatsApp.
It was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook. Archived here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On X, it was shared here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Instagram, it was shared here.
Conclusion: The video seems to be altered. Soch Fact Check did not find any record of this speech in any official DG ISPR press conferences held since the Pahalgam attack until 8 May 2025. Furthermore, audio analysis using Resemble Detect confirmed that the audio in the clip is fake.
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Background image in cover photo: Facebook
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