ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Mujahid AnwarKhan on Wednesday confirmed to international media for the first time thattwo Indian fighter jets were downed by PAF pilots during aerial engagementover the divided Kashmir region in February this year.
In an interview with Asian Military Review’s Alan Warnes, who has been aregular visitor to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) since 2001, the ACSconfirmed the Su-30MKI kill in addition to the MiG-21 Bison.
Alan, who has written two books on the PAF, took to Twitter to quotePakistan’s air chief as saying that the Mi-17 helicopter of Indian AirForce (IAF) was shot down by its own side possibly by a MiG-21, in a ‘redon red’ incident.
linkAlan Warnes@warnesyworldlinklink
The CAS confirmed the Su-30MKI kill in addition to the MiG-21 Bison. Alsoadded that the IAF Mi-17 that was lost was shot down by its own sidepossibly by a MiG-21, in a ‘red on red’ incident. He reiterated that no PAFF-16 pwas lost.Twitter Ads info and privacy link
ACM Khan also reiterated that no Pakistan’s F-16 was lost in the dogfightbetween two air forces on February 27, as claimed by Indian side.link
This is the first time the PAF chief has confirmed downing the Russian madeaircraft used by Indian air force.
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His interview comes a week after US officials said that they have countedthe number of Pakistan Air Force F-16s in service and can say that nonewere lost to the Indian Air Force on Feb 27 this year.
After the Pulwama suicide bombing by a young Muslim man born and bred inIndia-held Kashmir killed at least 40 paramilitary personnel on Feb 14 lastand a claim of responsibility was purportedly made by the Pakistan-basedJaish-e-Mohammad, India launched punitive air strikes against a JeM target,a religious seminary, in the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Feb 26.
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While the Indian side claims to have inflicted heavy loss of life, killingup to 300 fighters belonging to JeM, Pakistan denied the claim, saying thatthe IAF warplanes were forced to drop their payload when confronted byPakistani interceptors and only damaged some trees.
However, Pakistan appeared determined to answer in kind to a violation ofits airspace and sovereignty by its eastern neighbour and the very next dayavowedly first locked on to Indian military and administration targetsbefore firing on uninhabited ground in the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK).
At some point during this operation, IAF planes that were also airborne,flew across the Line of Control towards Pakistan and were engaged by thePAF which claimed shooting down both.
One downing of a MiG-21 Bison was verified as its wreckage was found on thePakistan side and its pilot IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman wascaptured after he ejected over Azad Kashmir. Pakistan’s military spokesmansuggested that the other plane possibly a SU-30 fell on the Indian side.
Some 60 hours after the Indian wing commander was handed back to India,sections of their media started to claim that before being hit himself theIndian flier had also shot down a PAF F-16, a claim contemptuouslydismissed by Pakistan.
But more than the Indian authorities, sections of the Indian media continueto propagate the myth that indeed a Pakistani F-16 had been downed.
The Indian media also tried its best to play down the crash of an IAF Mi-17helicopter that claimed the lives of seven servicemen.
