Pakistan’s Sky-High Delusions: A Struggle Between Reality and Narrative

By Chetna Gill

Cover Map Attribute: Flightradar24 screenshot of Pakistan Air Space (8:25 AM, PST, MAY 11, 2025)

Fifteen hours have passed since India and Pakistan declared a ceasefire  and officially reopened its airspace, yet the skies above remain eerily silent. With only a handful of commercial flights trickling through, the absence of air traffic is not just a logistical anomaly—it’s a stark indictment of a civil aviation infrastructure crippled by its entanglement with the military. This silence in the skies, captured vividly through Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) data, stands in sharp contrast to the carefully curated narratives Pakistan pushes on social media, where claims of resilience and military prowess attempt to mask systemic failures. The reality, laid bare by flight tracking data and satellite imagery, tells a story of a nation struggling to recover from conflict and unable to hide its vulnerabilities, no matter how loudly it broadcasts its propaganda.
OSINT platforms like FlightRadar24 have documented the near-total closure of Pakistani airspace during recent tensions, with Islamabad International Airport’s arrivals board shifting from diversions to outright cancellations. Even after the ceasefire, the skies remain empty, a fact that cannot be obscured by hashtags or viral posts. This isn’t just about timing; it’s about a civil aviation system so intertwined with military priorities that it grinds to a halt when strategic imperatives take precedence. Nearly 60% of Pakistan’s major civilian airports, including critical hubs like Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Quetta, operate under shared or direct military control. Airspace management, radar systems, and navigation are often dictated by military authorities, particularly in strategic zones where no independent civil aviation corridors exist. The result? A civilian aviation sector that is painfully slow to recover, leaving Pakistan’s economy and connectivity in limbo.
While the skies betray this reality, Pakistan’s social media machine is working overtime to spin a different tale. Following recent military operations, such as India’s “Operation Sindoor,” pro-Pakistan accounts flooded platforms like X with fabricated stories of miraculous victories and heroic retaliations. These posts, often amplified by bots and coordinated campaigns, recycle outdated images, misrepresent old videos, and peddle outright falsehoods to project strength and distract from the chaos on the ground. For instance, claims of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) operations involving “125 aircraft” conducting beyond-visual-range strikes without crossing borders surfaced without a shred of evidence, quickly debunked by OSINT analysts. Similarly, after a reported PAF fighter jet crash in Sialkot, news outlets like Dawn faced pressure to retract coverage, and social media accounts sharing the story were mass-reported to suppress the truth.
This pattern of narrative manipulation is not new. Pakistan’s social media landscape, with over 70 million active users, has become a battleground for shaping public opinion. Political parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have built dedicated social media teams to push their agendas, often at the expense of truth. During the 2018 elections, false reports and edited videos targeting political rivals went viral, swaying voters and deepening divisions. The COVID-19 pandemic saw misinformation about vaccines spread like wildfire, with a 2021 Gallup Pakistan poll revealing that 49% of Pakistanis hesitated to get vaccinated due to social media-driven disinformation. More recently, fabricated claims of military successes post-conflict have aimed to bolster national pride while deflecting from failures like the grounded aviation sector.

Image Attribute: The damaged Air Traffic Control tower and the adjacent aircraft hangar at Shahbaz Air Base (IATA: JAG, ICAO: OPJA), located in Jacobabad, Sindh, Pakistan, function as both a military and civilian airport. The base is jointly operated by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). / Date: May 10, 2025 / Source: X
Yet, OSINT data pierces through this digital smokescreen. Flight tracking tools, satellite imagery, and real-time monitoring expose the gap between Pakistan’s social media bravado and the reality of its infrastructure. The empty skies are not just a technical issue; they reflect a broader systemic problem where civilian needs are subordinated to military control. The economic fallout is severe—aviation contributes over $10 billion annually to Pakistan’s GDP, supporting countless jobs in tourism knitted together by air travel, logistics, and hospitality. Every hour of airspace closure hemorrhages revenue and erodes investor confidence. The human cost is equally dire: families are stranded, medical evacuations delayed, and Pakistan’s global connectivity weakened at a time when it can least afford isolation.
Social media’s role in masking these failures is a double-edged sword. While it allows Pakistan to project an image of strength, it also amplifies vulnerabilities. The same platforms that spread propaganda are scrutinized by OSINT analysts who cross-reference claims with hard data. For example, posts boasting of PAF’s technological prowess were mocked when users pointed out the military’s reliance on free versions of FlightRadar24 for air surveillance. Such revelations undermine Pakistan’s credibility, both domestically and internationally, as the world sees through the facade.
The roots of this crisis lie in Pakistan’s failure to separate its civil aviation from military dependency. Unlike countries with autonomous civil aviation authorities, Pakistan’s system is hamstrung by dual-use airports and military-controlled airspace. Creating independent civil aviation corridors and investing in modern, civilian-led air traffic management systems are critical steps toward resilience. Satellite-based navigation could reduce reliance on military radar, while partnerships with global aviation bodies like IATA could restore international trust.
But technical fixes alone won’t suffice. Pakistan must confront its addiction to narrative control. The coordinated misinformation campaigns, from suppressing jet crash reports to fabricating military victories, erode public trust and invite global scrutiny. A transparent approach—acknowledging failures and committing to reforms—would do more to rebuild confidence than a thousand viral posts. The government could work with social media platforms to flag disinformation, as suggested by analysts, while fostering a culture of accountability over propaganda.
The empty skies are a wake-up call, and OSINT data ensures the world hears it. Pakistan cannot tweet its way out of this crisis. The silence above its cities speaks louder than any hashtag, revealing a nation at a crossroads. By untangling its aviation infrastructure, investing in civilian-led systems, and embracing transparency, Pakistan can reclaim its skies and its credibility. Until then, the contrast between social media’s illusions and OSINT’s reality will only grow starker, leaving Pakistan grounded in more ways than one.

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