Subhechcha Ganguly 
Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi has taken a swipe at Pakistan’s claim of victory in the recent India-Pak conflict, pointing to the promotion of Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir to Field Marshal as an example of “narrative management.”
Speaking on August 4, Gen. Dwivedi said Pakistan measures the outcome of the conflict by Munir’s elevation, announced in May, rather than battlefield realities. “Victory is in the mind… you ask a Pakistani whether you lost or won, he will say, ‘My chief has become Field Marshal, so we must have won,’” he remarked, underscoring how public perception can be shaped to suit a narrative.
The Army Chief said India countered this through its own strategic communication, highlighting the success of the “Justice Done: Op Sindoor” message, which he claimed garnered the most global engagement online at the time.
Pakistan had credited Munir’s promotion to his role in “ensuring the country’s security and defeating the enemy,” a claim India rejects. The Ministry of External Affairs earlier dismissed it as a repeat of Pakistan’s “habit” of declaring victory, citing similar assertions in 1971, 1975, and during the 1999 Kargil War.
Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh recently revealed that in just 80–90 hours of the conflict, India severely damaged Pakistan’s air defence systems and shot down five fighter jets, forcing Islamabad to seek an end to hostilities.
