Okay, this seems to be a problem now. This is gonna seem a hard 180 on my part, but something very sinister is up. At this point, the number of eyewitness accounts and AV footage of CVF and drone interceptions by SAMs I have seen, it is clear to me that these ARE HAPPENING. And the MEA has also acknowledged the CFV. But why the government is trying to downplay drone activity is beyond me.
Also, I went through yesterday's news reporting clips again. And as a matter of fact, there was a very stark change in the narrative being reported on ALL channels at almost the same time. So, something is certainly happening behind the curtains. Also, notice the silence of ex-servicemen in the defence establishment, who have been rather vocal throughout (for eg, Gen Naravane).
My initial grasp on the situation was that we are playing the same "shut up and watch me play" game here, but something seems to be out of place. India has stuck to a "proportionate and moderate" response, or rather a "custom equivalent" response, throughout this conflict, but right now, the defence apparatus seems to be eerily quiet even in its response. Merely intercepting the drones cannot be called a "proportionate response".
Right now, I am banking on India launching some kind of disproportionate military action (justified now that there's been a unilateral change of status quo from Pakistan, mere hours into an agreement), which might be why it is taking time. But the window of opportunity is closing fast for us. It needs to come within 24 hours of Pakistan's CFVs. If it doesn't, I'll be certain that we've given in to some kind of international pressure here.
Ik a lot of my fellow DFBians will bring up the fact that it was a victory for India in the sense that we demonstrated complete military dominance over our adversary during the conflict. But the way it ended, if it is the end that is, Pakistan's narrative will be what is remembered. This isn't a fair sport where a victor is empirically crowned. Victory in War needs to be claimed. And Shahbaz Shareef has claimed Pakistan's victory. History is always written by the victors, folks. Doesn't matter if the victory was true or not.
At this juncture, it is IMPERATIVE that we achieve a very visually prominent advantage over our enemy otherwise we'll be the losers of this conflict, 1 month down the line.