The Tea is Still Fantastic: Remembering Operation Swift Retort and the Day PAF Broke India’s Pride

I still remember the exact feeling on the morning of February 27, 2019. Alhamdulillah, the air over Pakistan just felt different that day. You could literally feel the passion, the electric, fiercely proud energy in every single street. Today, as we celebrate the 7th anniversary of Operation Swift Retort, my chest still puffs up with that exact same pride. But honestly, looking across the eastern border, I just have to ask you directly: India, tell me the truth. Does the date 27th February still give your military commanders sleepless nights? Does the memory of that morning still make your defense ministry sweat?

Because it absolutely should.

Let’s just put the propaganda aside and talk man-to-man. We all know how your establishment plays the game. Whenever your government is failing at home, or your elections are just around the corner, suddenly, out of nowhere, there is a “terror attack.” Pulwama in 2019? Come on. The whole world, and deep down even you, knows it was an inside job. Even your own former Governor of occupied Kashmir, Satya Pal Malik, came out and exposed the whole dirty political game! And now? We are seeing the exact same tired Bollywood tamasha (drama) with the Pahalgam attack in April 2025. I seriously have to ask the common Indian citizen: how long are you going to let your politicians spill the blood of your own soldiers and tourists just to win a few election seats? How long will you buy this cheap script?

You used Pulwama as a pathetic excuse to violate our motherland. Your so-called Balakot “surgical strike” – Operation Bandar. You came on your TV channels screaming, chest-thumping that you destroyed a massive Jaish camp and killed hundreds. But what did the actual world see? Let’s be real here. Reuters, the BBC, satellite images from independent international experts—they all saw exactly what your “mighty” air force managed to hit. A patch of dirt and a few innocent pine trees. There was no camp. Zero casualties. Nothing but a multi-million-dollar war crime against our trees, just to feed fake news to your WhatsApp groups.

Honestly, are we supposed to be intimidated by a military that bombs empty forests to win elections?

But Pakistan? We don’t do WhatsApp forwards or Bollywood CGI. When you violate our sovereignty, we respond with the Pakistan Air Force.

On February 27, we showed you what real, cold, clinical precision looks like. Operation Swift Retort wasn’t just a military mission; it was an absolute masterclass that left you completely stunned. Our Shaheens crossed the Line of Control in broad daylight. We locked onto your brigade headquarters and ammunition depots in Rajouri, Poonch, and Bhimber Gali. And then? We deliberately dropped our payloads in the empty spaces right next to them. Do you know why? Because unlike your trigger-happy establishment, Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state. We don’t need to shed civilian blood to make a point. We basically tapped you on the shoulder, showed you we could wipe out your command centers in a blink of an eye, and left you sweating, without a single scratch.

But of course, your pilots panicked. You scrambled your jets, blindly crossed into our airspace, and walked right into the trap.

Tell me, what exactly happened to your highly-hyped Indian Air Force that morning? Within minutes, the PAF completely ripped your arrogance out of the sky! Two jets down—a MiG-21 Bison and a Su-30MKI. And then, there was your Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, tumbling from the sky right onto Pakistani soil.

We didn’t act like thugs. Our brave soldiers rescued him from the angry locals, washed his face, treated him with the pure dignity of a prisoner of war, and sat him down for a cup of tea. “The tea is fantastic, thank you.” Tell me, does that one sentence still burn your ears? It has become a global joke for your defeat and a massive symbol of our grace. We handed him back on March 1 as a unilateral gesture of pure peace. We literally shot down your pride, caught your pilot, gave him a nice cup of chai, and sent him walking back home. If that isn’t the ultimate, face-melting humiliation of a so-called “regional power,” I honestly don’t know what is!

Of course, your media anchors had to save their jobs, so they made up a fairy tale about shooting down a Pakistani F-16. But bro, you forgot that the Americans keep receipts! When US officials actually counted our inventory and confirmed to the whole world that not a single F-16 was missing, you became the laughingstock of the entire global defense community. We lost zero aircraft. Zero! You, on the other hand, were in such a blind panic that your own SPYDER air defense system shot down your own Mi-17 helicopter! I really want to know, how do your generals even look themselves in the mirror after that?

This is the bitter, hard pill India needs to swallow. Listen to me carefully: you can go cry to the world and buy all the Rafales and Su-30s your economy can handle. You can hoard all the Western and Russian toys you want. But you cannot buy the heart, the dileri (courage), and the sheer combat brilliance of a Pakistani pilot! When it comes down to a real dogfight, beyond-visual-range engagements, and unbreakable morale, your numbers mean absolutely nothing against our JF-17 Thunders, F-16s, and Mirages. There is simply no comparison between the PAF and the IAF. Period.

Today, as our jets fly past in celebration, and as every Pakistani looks up at the sky to pay tribute to the heroes of Swift Retort, look at the statue of Abhinandan sitting right there in the PAF Museum in Karachi. It isn’t just a showpiece. It is a permanent, living warning to you.

If you ever, ever try to pull another Pulwama, Pahalgam, or Balakot-style drama to violate our airspace again, remember this: Swift Retort 2.0 will not just be a warning tap. It will be faster, it will be deadlier, and it will be a hundred times more humiliating. The Pakistan Armed Forces—our Army, our Navy, and our Air Force—stand shoulder-to-shoulder, completely ready.

The skies above Pakistan belong to the Shaheens, and they are untouchable. 27 February 2019 proved it to the world. We are standing here, smiling, and more than ready to prove it again.

No comparison. Only victory for Pakistan.

Pakistan Zindabad! Pakistan Air Force – Shaheenon ka parcham, hamesha buland!