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F-16, JF-17 among 5 Pakistani jets shot down during India's Operation Sindoor: IAF chief counters Shehbaz Sharif
Heaping praise on how Op Sindoor was conducted, targets were struck and action was paused, the Air Force on Friday called for nations to learn from India.
The Indian Air Force on Friday reiterated that the armed forces downed five Pakistani jets during Operation Sindoor back in May. The claim was repeated by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh days after Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif presented distorted facts related to India's military operation during his remarks at the UN.
India downed five Pakistani fighter jets of the F-16 and JF-17 class, the IAF chief reportedly said during his remarks at the 93rd Air Force Day celebrations.
According to the official, India struck several airfields and installations in Pakistan, rendering a huge blow to its radars, command and control centres, hangars and runways. “We have signs of one C-130 class of aircraft...and at least 4 to 5 fighter aircraft, most likely F-16, because that place happened to be F-16 with whatever was under maintenance at that time,” he said.
“We have clear evidence of one long-range strike, which I talked about more than 300 km, which happened to be either an AEW&C or a SIGINT aircraft, along with that five high-tech fighters between F-16 and JF-17 class this is what our system tells us,” the IAF chief was further quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
He also mocked Pakistan for making false claims of downing Indian jets, calling them “manohar kahaniyan (fascinating tales)”.
“If they think they downed our 15 jets, I hope they are convinced about it and they will cater for 15 less aircraft in my inventory when they come to fight again,” the Air Force chief quipped. He also jabbed Pakistan for only making tall claims, but never releasing a picture of any of the Indian airbases to prove them.
“We showed so many pictures of their places. However, they couldn't show us even a single picture. So their narrative is 'Manohar Kahaniyan'. Let them be happy, after all, they also have to show something to their audience to save their reputation. That doesn't matter to me,” he said.
This is not the first time the Air Force has claimed downing five Pakistani jets during Operation Sindoor. Back in August too, the Air Chief Marshal had said that the the jets were shot down by the S-400 air defence systems.
His latest remarks come days after Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif falsely claimed in his UN General Assembly speech that the Pakistani forces downed seven Indian jets. "Our falcons took flight and etched thier answer across the skies, resulting in seven of the Indian jets turning to scrap and dust," he had said.
He had also presented a twisted account of Operation Sindoor, alleging India's attack on "civilians" prompted Pak forces to intervene. “India sought to extract political gains from a human tragedy by spurning my sincere offer of an independent investigation into the Pahalgam incident. Instead, it attacked our cities and targeted our innocent civilians,” he said.
The next day, his assertions received a strong clapback from India in a reply by First secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, Petal Gahlot. "If destroyed runways and burnt-out hangars look like victory, as the prime minister claimed, Pakistan is welcome to enjoy it," Gahlot said, delivering a sharp rebuttal.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, a fortnight after 26 civilians were killed in a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam. India destroyed terror infrastructure in Pakistan and POK, killing over 100 terrorists.
