Alwaght-India-Pakistan military continued to escalate amid fears of an all-out conflict between the two nuclear-armed rivals as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged his countrymen to “stand as a rock” in the face of the “enemy.”
The standoff between the two neighboring countries has escalated dramatically since February 14, when Indian over 40 paramilitary forces on the New Delhi-controlled side of Kashmir were killed in a bomb attack orchestrated by Pakistan-based terrorists.
The tensions reached a peak on Tuesday, when India said it had conducted “preemptive” airstrikes against what it described as a militant training camp in Pakistan’s Balakot.
Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force has confirmed that one of its MIG-21 Bison aircraft has shot down a Pakistan Air Force F-16. The news comes two days after the Pakistan Air Force claimed it shot down two Indian planes over the disputed territory of Kashmir.
IAF Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor told reporters on Thursday that the Pakistani aircraft was downed after intruding into Indian territory. Kapoor said that the plane was one of several Pakistani aircraft that dropped bombs in Indian territory, but caused no damage.
Indian jets bombed targets in the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir, claiming that Islamabad had done nothing to crack down on the terrorist group had carried out the Pulwama suicide attack killing 42 Indian security officers earlier this month.
Pakistan responded by shooting down at least one Indian bomber and capturing its pilot. India acknowledged the loss but said it had shot down a Pakistani aircraft as well.
Pakistan had previously denied using any of its F-16 aircraft in the attack, but the IAF displayed the twisted remnants of a US-made AMRAAM missile it says “conclusively shows” an F-16 was used.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he will release Varthaman on Friday “as a peace gesture,” a move that was welcomed by the IAF.
The region of Kashmir has been disputed by the two countries since the British colonial empire partitioned India in 1947. The region has been the cause of three wars, multiple military standoffs, and several insurgency campaigns in the decades since.
Indian troops are in constant clashes with armed groups seeking Kashmir’s independence or its merger with Pakistan.
India regularly accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants and allowing them across the restive frontier in an attempt to launch attacks. Pakistan strongly denies the allegation.
