Pakistan has claimed that they have shot down two IAF fighter jets and captured two pilots. They have also shared a video. Sources told ANI that IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman is missing since taking off in a MiG-21 Bison jet on Wednesday.
This incident comes after Pakistan army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor claimed that the wreckage of an aircraft fell on the Pakistan side while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. Soon after the air crash was reported Pakistan claimed that an IAF pilot was captured alive.
The Government of Pakistan had uploaded a 44-second video of the captured pilot on Twitter. The pilot, who was blindfolded in the video, introduced himself as Wing Commander Abhinandan with service number 27981.
The tweet read "Wing Commander Indian Air Force Abhinandan in the custody of Pakistani security forces. He was flying one of the aircraft which were shot down by PAF in Pakistani airspace this morning."
In the video, the IAF pilot can be heard saying that he is a flying pilot and a Hindu. On further questioning by the Pak forces over details, he refuses to answer saying, "I am sorry sir, that's all I am supposed to tell you."
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has confirmed that an IAF pilot is 'missing in action', who was flying a MiG-21 Bison fighter jet. Even though Pakistan has claimed of capturing two IAF pilots, India has only confirmed the capture of one.
A Pakistan media has released several images of documents which are claimed to be confiscated from the captured IAF pilot by the Pak army. The documents include a survival checklist note, map, survival on the land handbook and a gun.
Another IAF aircraft crash was reported in Badgam district of Jammu and Kashmir where all four aboard the aircraft has been reported dead.
The airstrikes and crashes have resulted in the suspension of commercial flight operations in Amritsar, Dehradun, Srinagar, Leh, Pathankot and Jammu.
Earlier, a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16 fighter jet was shot down after violated Indian airspace in Nowshera and Poonch sectors in J&K.
