Pakistan claimed it shot down 5 Indian fighter jets on Wednesday, together with three of the Indian Air Force’s prized French-made Rafales, following Indian missile strikes that left a minimum of 26 useless and 46 wounded on Pakistani soil.
French intelligence sources confirmed to CNN that a minimum of one Rafale was downed, with investigations underway into the destiny of presumably extra jets. If verified, it marks the primary identified fight loss for the extremely touted multirole fighter.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who additionally serves as deputy prime minister, addressed parliament Wednesday, stating that the Pakistan Air Force deployed Chinese-made J-10C fighters in a precision operation to intercept Indian plane. He mentioned the response focused solely these jets that “dropped payloads” throughout the in a single day incursion.
“Our forces could have taken down 10 or 12 aircraft,” Dar mentioned. “But there was a strict order – strike only those that fired.” Among these hit, he claimed, have been three Rafales, a MiG-29, and an SU-30.
There has been no official remark from New Delhi on the lack of its warplanes.
The confrontation erupted following India’s missile barrage concentrating on what it described as “nine terrorist locations” in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The strikes got here within the wake of a lethal April 22 assault in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, that left 26 folks useless.
India has pinned the blame on Pakistan, citing cross-border militant hyperlinks – an accusation Islamabad has firmly rejected.
“We proposed a neutral probe with third-party oversight,” Dar mentioned. “But instead of cooperation, they sent missiles.”
Wednesday’s alternate marked one of the crucial harmful escalations lately throughout the Line of Control (LoC) – the unstable, disputed frontier slicing via Kashmir. The Pakistani army mentioned its forces responded in sort to Indian shelling and air assaults.
“The much-hyped Rafale jets failed miserably, and Indian pilots proved utterly incompetent,” Dar mentioned, delivering a pointy rebuke aimed toward New Delhi’s protection institution.
Amid the diplomatic fallout, Dar revealed that key allies, together with China, have rallied behind Pakistan. “The Chinese ambassador was at the Foreign Office by 4 a.m.,” he mentioned. “We’ve shared everything.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com