Pakistan’s Fake Naval Claims Fall Flat as India Projects Real Maritime Might

In the wake of Operation Sindoor, Pakistan's military establishment finds itself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

As India projected real maritime dominance with a formidable naval deployment, Pakistan was left red-faced after its top brass showcased a morphed photograph to assert naval readiness.

Photo Credit: PTI

Between May 9 and 11, Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) organised multiple press briefings to detail its so-called "Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos," the response to India's swift retaliatory strikes post the April 22 Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives.

Among the key officials was Vice Admiral Raja Rab Nawaz, who presented imagery supposedly showing the rapid deployment of Pakistani submarines, warships and surveillance aircraft.

However, as independent analysts dug deeper, the image was exposed as a digitally doctored version of a 2023 photograph from a joint China-Pakistan naval drill.

The original image-available publicly on Radio Pakistan's website-was recycled, with a submarine digitally inserted to enhance its perceived threat posture.

This embarrassing revelation has reignited questions about Pakistan's military credibility and the gap between its propaganda and actual preparedness.

Navy sources told One India that this was not the first instance of Pakistan leaning heavily on optics to mask operational deficiencies, especially at sea.

In sharp contrast, the Indian Navy's real-time mobilisation under Operation Sindoor demonstrated depth, agility and reach. Within 96 hours of the terror attack in Kashmir, India deployed a 36-ship task force led by INS Vikrant, with strike elements positioned to cover both offensive and defensive contingencies. The scale and speed of the mobilisation reinforced India's maritime dominance in the region.

Navy sources told One India that the task force included missile destroyers armed with BrahMos, stealth frigates, and nuclear and conventional submarines-all coordinated in a manner that boxed the Pakistan Navy within its own littoral zone. At one point, even Karachi port was within India's strike envelope.

Vice Admiral A.N. Pramod, Director General of Naval Operations, confirmed that India had the capability to strike land and sea targets, and was prepared to act decisively if escalation warranted it.

Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Nawaz downplayed the Indian deployment, suggesting that INS Vikrant's position-400 nautical miles from Karachi-posed no direct threat. He even claimed that such proximity would make the carrier "easier to target." Indian officials dismissed this as posturing, pointing out that Pakistani naval activity remained confined to port areas, and that multiple NAVAREA warnings issued by Pakistan itself reflected restricted maritime movement.

Navy sources told One India that the credibility gap lies not just in Pakistan's use of outdated images, but in its inability to demonstrate a real-time operational response.

This episode underlines how digital deception and information warfare have become tools of statecraft in modern conflict. But unlike previous decades, when claims could go unchecked, today's open-source intelligence and digital verification tools expose such tactics almost instantly.

Indian officials termed Pakistan's behaviour part of a "barrage of falsehoods," including previously debunked claims like the destruction of the Adampur airbase-disproved when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the fully functional facility shortly thereafter.

Strategically, the incident exposes a widening gulf between India's credible military posture and Pakistan's overstretched attempts at deterrence through information manipulation. While India's operation has been described as "calibrated and coordinated," Pakistan's narrative has suffered from self-inflicted credibility erosion.

As defence experts note, military capability cannot be Photoshopped. Projection of power comes not through altered images, but through real, demonstrable readiness-something Pakistan is struggling to display.