On the night of May 7, 2025, the skies over South Asia witnessed more than just an exchange of firepower — they echoed a shift in global power dynamics. The aerial battle between India and Pakistan, lasting just 23 minutes, may well be remembered as a symbolic turning point: a moment when the Pakistani eagles exhibited professional maturity, display of mastery of their legacy in aerial battles. Reminding the air battle skills of legendary air aces like Saiful Azam and MM Alam against Israeli and Indian pilots, respectively.
The confrontation showcased indigenous capability, strategic resolve, and — most importantly — independence from traditional Western dependence. For decades, the balance of global military power was seen as revolving around NATO, Washington, and the Atlantic order. That centrality was shifting toward East in these fateful 23 minutes.
Pakistan’s swift air response — including the downing of multiple Indian jets (as claimed) — stunned observers. It revealed not only military readiness but also something deeper: a command structure rooted in conviction, discipline, and perhaps divine reliance. General Asim Munir’s decision to seek Istikhara before battle may seem spiritual, but it also reflects a leadership model alien to the secular
West — one where faith and force are not in contradiction, but in harmonious alignment.
Though India, too, displayed technological sophistication and aggressive intent with its use of Rafale jets and precision strikes. Yet the fact that the air battle didn’t turn in their favour is a clear demonstration of lethal air power that is the combination of legendary Pakistan Air Force aces and a Chinese high-tech edge over the western technology. The one that seems to be crossing over the western high tech. That is where world have been taken over in surprise by this Chinese Pakistan partnership. Let us analyse the impact of these 23 minutes in the future aerial combat and beyond the air battle. How these 23 minutes matter beyond the battlefield? Because they signal a transition:
a) From West to East as the epicenter of global tension, power centre and diplomacy.
B) From dependency to self-reliance in defense and strategic decision-making.
C) From Western moral framing to indigenous Eastern value systems — whether rooted in faith, culture, or civilizational identity as the Chinese term it.
In a world long dominated by Western narratives of power , these 23 minutes — will keep reminding the world that the future will not be written in Washington or Brussels alone. Beijing will be key player in shaping the future of the world. As it was being trumpeted, by the western think tanks that the battle as “ who will be the next superpower is being fought between Kashgar and Gawadar ‘ China
with the support of its IRON BROTHERS have cleaned swept and won the first round.
If I say the enemy have been knocked out, will not be wrong. Pakistan leadership, civil or military, has shown extreme maturity, patience and skilled diplomacy and military skills, and I am confidence that now no one can stop Pakistan for rising as mini regional superpower.
