Pakistan says its air force shot down two Indian fighter jets over the disputed border region of Kashmir, in a significant escalation of the crisis between the two nuclear-armed powers.
India confirmed the loss of one plane and said it shot down a Pakistani jet as it responded to the incident.
The confrontation came a day after India said it launched airstrikes in Pakistan territory in the first such incursion by Indian Air Force planes since the India-Pakistan war of 1971.
Pakistan’s chief military spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, claimed two Indian jets were downed in Wednesday’s operation. One fell inside Pakistan-administered Kashmir, while another went down in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir, he said on Twitter.
Ghafoor initially claimed two Indian pilots were arrested and said one was being treated for injuries in a military hospital.
ndia confirmed the Pakistan strikes but said that it had lost only one aircraft. One pilot was missing, it said. “Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts,” said Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. India did not say where its plane went down.
In his statement, Kumar said an Indian air force plane shot down a Pakistani jet, which fell on the Pakistan side of the border.
The escalating tensions come at a politically crucial time for India, which is scheduled to hold national elections by the end of May.
Pakistan closed its airspace on Wednesday, according to the country’s Civil Aviation Authority.
A number of Indian airlines announced the supension of flights to several Indian airports were also suspended. Jet Airways, Vistara, Indigo and GoAir airlines said in separate announcements they were halting flights to airports at Amritsar, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Jammu & Leh.
