India-Pak Tensions LIVE: Acknowledging that an IAF wing commander is in Pakistan custody, the government has in a strongly worded statement objected to Pakistan military’s “vulgar display” of the injured pilot. The statement came moments after Pakistan military said it has one Indian pilot in custody. Hours earlier, he had claimed Pakistan had arrested two IAF personnel. Major General Asif Ghafoor, the chief of Pakistan military’s media wing, had earlier in the day released the service number of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and said another Indian pilot was hospitalised because of injuries. In a press briefing, the External Affairs Ministry had said the Wing Commander was missing in action after his MiG-21 Bison fighter jet crashed while engaging with Pakistani aircraft.
The government also handed the Pakistani envoy a dossier containing “specific details of Jaish-e-Mohammed complicity in the Pulwama terror attack of February 14, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. The dossier also had proof of the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan. “It was conveyed that India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control,” the MEA statement said.
A day after India bombed Jaish-e-Mohammed’s biggest training camp in Pakistan, it was a morning of developments moving with dizzying rapidity.
Islamabad claimed it hit back at India by bringing down two Indian military aircraft, one of which crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. Officials here said a Pakistani Air Force fighter jet was shot down by Indian air defence forces in Jammu region’s Rajouri sector.
As tension mounted, the entire airspace north of New Delhi was briefly “vacated”. Nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were closed for civilian traffic for some part of the morning but opened later in the day.
Jammu and Kashmir was the centre of much of the action on a day of escalating tensions between the two neighbours.
An IAF helicopter crashed in Budgam in Kashmir, killing at least seven people.
There was no direct established link with the activity by Pakistani jets, but for many it was just a sign of the disturbed times.
There was also nightlong heavy firing and shelling on forward and civilian areas from across the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch with the Army and the Border Security Force being put on the highest degree of alertness.
All residents of the border areas were asked to remain inside their homes and not venture outside.
While the government and the defence establishment took stock of the situation, building up since the February 14 attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in which 40 soldiers were killed, attention swivelled on the IAF pilot in enemy territory.
In a terse press statement, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, said details are being ascertained about Pakistan’s claim of having captured one Indian pilot.
Officials said Pakistani fighter jets violated Indian air space in Jammu region’s Poonch and Rajouri sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft. The jets dropped bombs while returning but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, they said.
“Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan’s attempts were foiled successfully,” Kumar said.
He said the Pakistan Air Force activity was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly.
“In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG-21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side.
“In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG-21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts,” he said.
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