• Ex-CM says India was completely defeated on first day of battle.
• IAF was completely grounded due to Pakistan’s dominance: Chavan.
• Chavan says there was high probability of IAF jets being shot down.

While New Delhi continues to make bold claims regarding the Pakistan-India war months after the May conflict, a politician from the neighbouring country has declared that his side completely lost the battle during the May conflict.

“Accept it or not, we were fully defeated in the half-hour aerial engagement that took place on May 7. On the first day (of Operation Sindoor), we were completely defeated,” Indian News Agency (ANI) quoted former Maharashtra chief minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan as saying in a recent statement.

The ex-CM further said that the Indian Air Force was completely grounded during the battle and not a single aircraft of their flew due to the fear of being shot down as a result of Pakistan’s robust aerial combat tactics. 

“If any aircraft had taken off from Gwalior, Bathinda, or Sirsa, there was a high probability of being shot down by Pakistan, which is why the air force was fully grounded,” Chavan said.

Pakistan, under the leadership of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir, had given a befitting response to India in May.

In a major defensive success against the rival country, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down seven Indian aircraft, including Rafales, and destroyed an S-400 defence system.

The four-day war between the two nuclear-armed nations was triggered by India’s unlawful missile strikes inside Pakistan, which resulted in the martyrdom of several civilians and security personnel.

Pakistan, in addition to downing multiple Indian fighter jets, then launched a retaliatory strike, targeting over 20 Indian military sites across multiple regions.

The hostilities ended on May 10 after the two countries agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.

Months after the conflict, a report submitted to the United States Congress acknowledged Pakistan’s military success over India.

The report, submitted by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, noted that Pakistan deployed advanced Chinese weaponry during the conflict to enhance its military edge over India.

The report mentioned the successful use of China’s modern weapons systems in active combat for the first time, including the HQ-9 air-defence system, PL-15 air-to-air missiles, and J-10C fighter aircraft.

CDF Munir, earlier this month, warned India of a more “severe response” if it resorts to any aggression against Pakistan in the future.

“India should not be in any delusion [as] Pakistan’s response [in case of any aggression] will be even more swift and intense,” he said.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the expansion of the country’s travel ban, adding seven more nations, including Syria, to the list of countries whose citizens are prohibited from entering the United States.

According to a White House statement, Trump signed a proclamation “expanding and strengthening entry restrictions on nationals from countries with demonstrated, persistent, and severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing” to protect national security and public safety.

The expanded ban affects citizens of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria, and holders of Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents. It also imposes a full ban on Laos and Sierra Leone, which had previously faced only partial restrictions. The ban is set to take effect on January 1.

The announcement comes despite Trump’s earlier promise to support Syria’s reconstruction following landmark talks in November with Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa, a former Al Qaeda commander who until recently was sanctioned by the US as a foreign terrorist.

Al Sharaa has sought to portray himself as a moderate leader working to unify Syria and end its international isolation.

Trump also reacted strongly to a recent attack in Syria, in which two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed by a suspected Daesh attacker targeting a US-Syrian convoy.

Trump described the incident as a “terrible” attack and vowed “very serious retaliation” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

The White House justified the ban by citing high visa overstay rates for Syria and the country’s ongoing challenges in issuing passports and civil documents, as well as inadequate screening and vetting measures.

“Syria is emerging from prolonged civil unrest and internal strife,” the statement read. “While the country is working with the US to address security challenges, it still lacks an adequate central authority for issuing passports or civil documents.”

US adds more nations to partial restrictions list

Trump signed a proclamation in June banning the citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States and restricting those from seven others, saying it was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.

The bans apply to both immigrants and non-immigrants, such as tourists, students and business travellers.

The travel ban remains on those twelve countries, the White House said.

Trump also added partial restrictions and entry limitations on an additional 15 countries, including Nigeria, which is under scrutiny from Trump, who, in early November, threatened military action over the treatment of Christians in the country.

Nigeria says claims that Christians face persecution misrepresent a complex security situation and do not take into account efforts to safeguard religious freedom.

Since returning to the office in January, Trump has aggressively prioritised immigration enforcement, sending federal agents to major US cities and turning away asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border.

The expansion of the countries subject to entry restrictions marks a further escalation of immigration measures the administration has taken since the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, last month.

Investigators say the shooting was carried out by an Afghan national who entered the US in 2021 through a resettlement program under which Trump administration officials have argued there was insufficient vetting.

Days after the shooting, Trump vowed to “permanently pause” migration from all “Third World Countries,” although he did not identify any by name or define the term.

One of the two men suspected of carrying out Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in three decades is expected to face charges later on Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, as funerals began for the Jewish victims of Sunday’s attack.

The alleged father-and-son duo opened fire at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, in an attack that shook the nation and raised concerns about rising antisemitism and violent extremism.

Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene, while his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram, emerged from a coma on Wednesday after also being shot by police.

“He will be charged formally, if he hasn’t been so already. I expect that will take place in the coming hours,” Albanese said in a podcast interview Wednesday morning.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said investigators plan to question Naveed once his medication wears off and legal counsel is present. He remains hospitalized under heavy police guard.

Authorities revealed the suspects had traveled to the southern Philippines, a region long affected by militancy, weeks before the attack, which police said appeared to be inspired by Daesh (ISIS).

In the United States, President Donald Trump expressed solidarity at a White House Hanukkah event, saying he was thinking of the victims of the “horrific and antisemitic terrorist attack.”

“We join in mourning all of those who were killed, and we’re praying for the swift recovery of the wounded,” he added.

Funerals for Jewish victims begin

A funeral for Rabbi Eli Schlanger, an assistant rabbi at Chabad Bondi Synagogue and a father of five, was held on Wednesday.

He was known for his work for Sydney’s Jewish community through Chabad, a global organisation fostering Jewish identity and connection.

Schlanger would travel to prisons and meet with Jewish people living in Sydney’s public housing communities, Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin said on Monday.

Albanese is facing criticism that his centre-left government did not do enough to prevent the spread of antisemitism in Australia during the two-year Israel-Gaza war.

“We will work with the Jewish community, we want to stamp out and eradicate antisemitism from our society,” Albanese told reporters.

The government and intelligence services are also under pressure to explain why Sajid Akram was allowed to legally acquire the high powered rifles and shotguns used in the attack. The government has already promised sweeping reforms to gun laws.

Akram’s son, meanwhile, was briefly investigated by Australia’s domestic intelligence agency in 2019 over alleged links to Daesh, but there was no evidence at the time he posed a threat, Albanese said.

Man praises as hero to undergo surgery

Albanese said Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, the man who tackled one of the shooters to disarm his rifle and suffered gunshot wounds, was due to undergo surgery on Wednesday.

Al-Ahmed’s uncle, Mohammed al-Ahmed in Syria, said his nephew left his hometown in Syria’s northwest province of Idlib nearly 20 years ago to seek work in Australia.

“We learned through social media. I called his father and he told me that it was Ahmed. Ahmed is a hero, we’re proud of him. Syria in general is proud of him,” the uncle told Reuters.

The family of 22-year-old police officer Jack Hibbert, who was shot twice on Sunday and had been on the force for just four months, said in a statement on Wednesday he had lost vision in one eye and faced a “long and challenging recovery” ahead.

“In the face of a violent and tragic incident, he responded with courage, instinct, and selflessness, continuing to protect and help others whilst injured, until he was physically no longer able to,” the family said.

Health authorities said 22 people were still in several Sydney hospitals.

Holocaust survivor among victims

Other shooting victims included a Holocaust survivor, a husband and wife who first approached the gunmen before they started firing, and a 10-year-old girl named Matilda, according to interviews, officials and media reports.

Matilda’s father told a Bondi vigil on Tuesday night he did not want his daughter’s legacy to be forgotten.

“We came here from Ukraine … and I thought that Matilda is the most Australian name that can ever exist. So just remember the name, remember her,” local media reported him as saying.

In Bondi on Wednesday, swimmers gathered on Sydney’s most popular beach and held a minute’s silence.

“This week has obviously been very profound, and this morning, I definitely feel a sense of the community getting together, and a sense of everyone sitting together,” Archie Kalaf, a 24-year-old Bondi man, told Reuters. “Everyone’s grieving, everyone’s understanding and processing it in their own way.”