Only one pilot in custody: Pakistan military

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 27, Feb 2019, 20:52 pm IST | UPDATED: 27, Feb 2019, 20:52 pm IST

Delhi: One Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot was missing in action and a MiG 21 fighter jet was lost, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said this afternoon, a short while after Pakistan claimed to have two Indian pilots in its custody.

But the neighbouring nation seems to have undergone a change of account AND COUNT.

Pakistan military spokesperson Asif Ghafoor has now (some seven hours after the first false claim) tweeted: "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army’s custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics."

This is a complete diversion from what he said early Wednesday morning.

While addressing a press conference an hour after his tweet, Maj Gen Ghafoor said that another pilot was arrested.

"Our ground forces arrested two pilots; one of them was injured and has been shifted to CMH [Combined Military Hospital] and, God-willing, he will be taken care of," said the army official.

"The other one is with us."

"Today's action was in self defence; we do not want to claim any victory. The way we set out target and made sure that there were no collateral damage the in-built message was that despite out capability, we look towards peace," he added.

At a briefing in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said an Indian Air Force MiG-21 Bison was "lost" this morning while thwarting Pakistani fighter jets that had entered Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," Raveesh Kumar said.

Kumar also confirmed earlier reports that a Pakistani fighter jet was shot down by Indian fighters.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called for a truce with India and urged his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, to let better sense prevail.

In a televised national address, Khan said it was not a time to let the military forces of either nation take over, as it would only lead to more number of deaths.

"If we let the conflict between the two nations escalate from this point, we don't know where it would go. It would neither remain in my control nor in Narendra Modi's," Khan said.

The Pakistan premier added, "I have said this before and I am repeating it. If India wants to hold a dialogue, we are ready. If they want to discuss militancy, terrorism, we are ready. They have to let us know. This time, at least this time, better sense should prevail."

Imran Khan also referred to the biggest wars in the history of mankind to futher cement his point that a military conflict cannot be a solution to issues between nations.