Both Pakistan and India are highly sensitive when it comes to discussing military related matters. The First Kashmir War (1947-48) was a stalemate, since then Indian Prime Minister (PM) Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, fearing the liberation of the entire Valley, appealed to the UN Security Council (UNSC), asking it to impose a ceasefire. The UNSC obliged, but approved Resolution 47 to hold a plebiscite enabling Kashmiris to opt for accession to Pakistan or India. Nehru agreed to abide by the UNSC Resolutions but later reneged. The 1965 Pak-India War was a result of frustrations over the Kashmir impasse. Regardless, the 1965 and 1971 Pak-India Wars failed to change the fate of Kashmir. This didn’t stop Pakistan from claiming victory in 1965, since it stopped the onslaught of the Indian military, which was five times larger than its own. In 1971, Pakistan lost its eastern wing, which became Bangladesh. The result of the uneven balance of forces 10:1 in favour of India was never in doubt; it brought ignominy to Pakistan’s armed forces but individual tales of valour and holding out for nearly ten months till the shameful surrender on December 16, 1971, redeemed some honour, albeit infinitesimally. Pakistan claims that the Indian spy agency RAW, backed by the extremist elements of RSS machinated the severance. Indian PM Narendra Modi confessed on the floor of the Bangladesh Parliament on June 6, 2015 that he had fought alongside Mukti Bahini guerrillas, trained by India for the secession of East Pakistan and “liberation of Bangladesh” in 1971. The advent of Narendra Modi-led BJP government ushered in an era of extremism. Sensible Indian scientists as well as historians have expressed alarm at their government’s attempts to rewrite Indian history by distorting facts about a glorious Hindu past. At the 2016 National Science Conference — an annual gathering of India’s top intellectuals — an entire session was devoted to discussing ancient Indian technology. It was claimed that jumbo airplanes and organ transplants were common in India thousands of years ago. Some went to the extent of boasting that the Hindu god Ganesh proved that ancients had mastered plastic surgery. In the past, Indian cinema was in the lead when it came to creating sensational claims of heroism, mixing facts with fiction. Their central theme was denigrating Pakistan with movies like Border, Agent Vinod, GI Joe: Retaliation, Haider, Bangistan, Baby, Phantom, Ambarsariya, Neerja, Shivayy, Dishoom, et-al. At the 2016 National Science Conference — an annual gathering of India’s top intellectuals — an entire session was devoted to discussing ancient Indian technology. It was claimed that jumbo airplanes and organ transplants were common in India thousands of years ago. Some went to the extent of boasting that the Hindu god Ganesh proved that ancients had mastered plastic surgery It now appears that RAW has added fiction to its arsenal of weapons. A book titled Operation Jinnah was launched by India in May 2017 to malign Pakistan. It may be recalled that on September 29, 2016 — eleven days after the false flag attack at Uri — the Indian Army conducted purported retaliatory “surgical strikes” on what it termed “launch-pads” used by militants in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The Indian claims of the imaginary “surgical strikes” were vehemently refuted by Pakistan, which took national and international media teams to the supposed locations of the strike to nail the lie. Obsessed with trying to prove its “fake” claim, RAW released a video on June 28, 2018, eighteen months after the fantasy attack, which was also shot down by its own analysts. Apparently fixated on the theme of “surgical strikes”, RAW commissioned Shiv Aroor, Editor and anchor at India Today TV, to author Operation Jinnah. He has previously co-authored another sensational book titled India’s Most Fearless: True Stories of Modern Military Heroes. Taking shelter of fiction, while glorifying Indian Special Forces undertaking covert actions described as “surgical strikes”, Shiv Aroor spins a web of ridiculous plots in the new thriller, depicting Pakistan sponsoring terrorist activities inside India, against which Indian commandos take retaliatory action. Nistula Hebbar, in her Op-Ed titled ‘Subcontinental Shift’ in The Hindu, published on June 24, 2017 presents the short book as “delivering the first of Indian fiction’s military heroes”. The plot unfolds with three friends holidaying in Kashmir, who have a faceoff of with “terrorists”. Two are killed, the third, who happens to be the daughter of the Indian Naval Chief (Admiral Rana), is kidnapped because her captors have a score to settle with the father. The Admiral is supposed to have attempted to target Pakistan Navy’s Base “Jinnah” at Gawadar with BrahMos Cruise Missiles but was constrained to abort “Operation Jinnah” when PN got wind of his plan. Lionising female members of Indian Special Forces, who pull off a daring rescue, the book reeks of jingoism and propaganda. Ironically, Operation Jinnah’s prologue speaks of an aborted Indian nuclear attack against Pakistan in retaliation to 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The author and his Indian readers are perhaps, blissfully unaware that India did send a probe mission comprising two armed Sukhoi-30s. The intruders were intercepted by vigilant PAF F-16s who snapped their pictures within missile range but let them go, with the message that if they ever dared to cross into Pakistani airspace, they would be blown into smithereens. The writer is a retired Group Captain of PAF. He is a columnist, analyst and TV talk show host, who has authored six books on current affairs, including three on China Published in Daily Times, September 15th 2018.