Deceiving others is bad, but deceiving oneself is worse. Having acquired consummate skills in lying to the world about anything, Pakistan’s immersion into mendacity is complete. It can no longer distinguish between fact and fiction—and between defeat and triumph. It got smacked in the four-day skirmish with India last month; there is a mountain of evidence (including videos by Pakistani social media) to prove that Operation Sindoor was a resounding success, resulting in considerable damage to Pakistan’s air defence system and air bases. And Pakistan’s reaction? It claimed that it won! Never was a lie as blatant.

Six days after the cessation of hostilities, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement, “This is a victory of the Armed Forces of Pakistan as well as the self-reliant, proud, and dignified Pakistani nation. The entire nation is standing by the armed forces like a wall made of lead." The Army chief, Gen Syed Asim Munir, was made Field Marshal.

It is not just the Pakistani government and military that claimed to have emerged victorious in a skirmish in which they were soundly thrashed; people believed in the lie. A Gallup Pakistan survey conducted between May 11 and 15 showed that 96 per cent of more than 500 respondents believed Pakistan had won the conflict," Al Jazeera reported. “Initial........

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