'Absolutely fake': Info ministry rubbishes claims of PAF jets getting damaged in Houthi attack on Saudi base

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Ministry of Information and Broadcasting logo. — Photo courtesy Fact Checker MoIB/ X
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting logo. — Photo courtesy Fact Checker MoIB/ X

The Ministry of Information has dismissed claims of Pakistani jets getting damaged in a Houthi attack on a Saudi base as “absolutely fake”.

In a post its fact-checking X account, the ministry said social media accounts propelling Indian propaganda were circulating false claims that Houthi missiles had struck King Abdulaziz Air Base in Saudi Arabia, damaging three PAF JF-17 aircraft and prompting their evacuation.

The ministry also shared a screenshot of a post by one such account, with “fake” stamped on it.

“This is absolute (sic) fake. No credible or official source has also reported any sort of damage to PAF JF-17s,” the ministry said in its statement.

It added that the “deliberate fabrication of damage to PAF aircraft and their alleged evacuation is only blatant Indian propaganda part of Hindutva deceit and deceptive mindset”.

Pakistani forces were deployed at King Abdulaziz Air Base in Dhahran in April as part of the joint defence cooperation agreement signed between the two countries last year. The deployment was meant to boost the kingdom’s security.

“The Pakistani force consists of fighter and support aircraft belonging to the Pakistan Air Force, with the aim of enhancing joint military coordination, raising the level of operational readiness between the armed forces of the two countries,” the Saudi defence ministry said at the time.

On the other hand, have carried out attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent days, as the US-Israeli war on Iran expands into a wider conflict.

Houthis had struck King Khalid air base in Khamis Mus­hait, in the kingdom’s south, hitting hangars, radar installations, runways and ammunition stores on Monday. Saudi authorities issued eme­r­gency alerts in Khamis Mushait and three other southern areas following the attacks.

But no attacks on King Abdulaziz Air Base have been reported so far.

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