From Rawalpindi Chicken to Balakot Tiramisu: IAF takes a dig at Pakistan, BJP joins in

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force’s 93rd anniversary celebration brought not just pomp and pride but also a touch of humour that has taken social media by storm. A photograph of the event’s dinner menu, featuring dishes named after Pakistani airbases targeted in past anti-terror operations, has gone viral and sparked lively online discussions.

The creatively themed menu included items such as ‘Rawalpindi’ Chicken Tikka Masala, ‘Rafiqui‘ Rhara Mutton, ‘Bholari‘ Paneer Methi Malai, ‘Sukkur’ Sham Savera Kofta, ‘Sargodha’ Dal Makhani, ‘Jacobabad’ Mewa Pulao, and ‘Bahawalpur’ Naan in the main course.

For dessert, guests were served ‘Balakot‘ Tiramisu, ‘Muzaffarabad’ Kulfi Faluda, and ‘Muridke‘ Meetha Pan.

Each of these names carries deep historical symbolism for the IAF, as the bases listed were among those targeted during India’s airstrikes in Operation Bandar in 2019 and Operation Sindoor earlier this year.

Reacting to the viral menu card, the Bharatiya Janata Party praised the gesture as a reflection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s "Naya Bharat” and his call to "ghar me ghus ke maarenge.”

Sharing the picture of the menu from IAF’s event, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala wrote on X, "From serving dishes to serving justice. Now, even the Menu of IAF conveys a new normal! Gone are the days when 26/11 took place and no action was allowed as per P Chidambaram by foreign powers. Now it’s a new model. Ghar me ghus kar maaro.”

Poonawala also took a swipe at the Congress, accusing it of restraining India’s military response after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and of weakening the nation’s fight against terrorism while in power.