The term false flag has been used symbolically and it denotes the purposeful misrepresentation of an actor’s objectives or associations.
The lineage of this term is drawn from maritime affairs where ships raise a false flag to disguise themselves and hide their original identity and intent.
On 26th Feb 2019, Indian Air Force launched aerial strike near Balakot targeting a religious seminary that India described as a militant camp and claimed killing more than 300 terrorists.
Pakistan and several international observers had negated the claim as there were no causalities and the bombs had clearly missed their targets.
Moreover, Indian government failed to provide concrete proof of Balakot strikes. Indian opposition especially Congress has also raised suspicions over Balakot surgical strikes claimed by BJP government. Rahul Gandhi and Navjot Singh Sidhu demanded validations and count of the dead in the strike.
Meanwhile, Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in its satellite imagery suggested that there was no indication of damage on the site of the alleged strike. India also claimed that one of its Mig-21s had shot down Pakistan’s F-16 aircraft which was also refuted by Foreign Policy magazine based on the interviews with US Department of Defence officials who verified that no F-16 was missing from Pakistani inventory.
Later on, to hide embarrassment in the wake of Pakistan’s befitting response to Indian aerial intrusion, Modi government awarded Indian Pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan with Vir Chakra.
Senior Advisor on South Asia at US of Peace, Daniel Markey has written a research paper, titled “Strategic Implications of India’s Liberalism and Democratic Erosion”. Mr Markey points out that the Balakot airstrike, subsequent skirmishes and India’s “debunked claims of a destroyed terrorist camp inside Pakistan and downing of a Pakistani F-16 jet, have already raised questions in US about New Delhi’s credibility and communications strategy during an exceptionally dangerous regional context”.
Modi government’s public mischaracterization of the February 2019 Balakot air strike raises questions about India’s ability to deal with an exceptionally dangerous regional situation, warns a recently released research paper.
Although, India still refuses to accept its failure in intimidating Pakistan, US scholars and defence experts only confirm the downing of an Indian aircraft whose pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan was captured and later returned to India via Wagah border.
Indian false flag operations like the Pulwama attack and consequent Balakot airstrike are part of India’s Hybrid warfare against Pakistan. India is trying to defame Pakistan through propaganda tactics and present Pakistan as the hub of terrorism.
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