India’s Defence minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has confirmed that the Indian military has knowledge about the identity of the downed Pakistani F-16 fighter jet pilot. The jet was shot down by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s MiG-21 Bison on February 27, 2019, a day after India conducted air strikes on a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot. This was done in retaliation for the role the terrorist outfit played in the February 14 Pulwama attack.
She said that even though Pakistan was aware of this, they wouldn’t admit it. They were still in denial of the loss. The F-16 pilot was beaten up by local villagers in Pakistan and probably died in a hospital.
The Minister did not provide any further details, referring only to earlier reports on social media and the evidence India has produced to prove an F-16 was used by Pakistan.
“It is sad that Pakistan is still in denial on shooting down of F-16 aircraft, but we have proof and we have shown some proof of missile, which are compatible only with F-16. I am not revealing the fact, but social media from Pakistan side has revealed the fact about death of their pilot in dogfight,” Sitharaman said.
The extent of loss sustained by the two neighbouring countries is yet to be ascertained. Pakistan has continuously claimed shooting down two Indian fighters. This has been opposed by India and even though they have asked for proof, only one Indian pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, was captured by Pakistani forces and subsequently released as a ‘goodwill gesture’.
Indian air force has already given the proof of a shooting down an F-16 aircraft by showing a portion of the debris, that had fallen on the Indian side.
Sitharaman also said that Wing Commander Abhinandan was fine and even though he had sustained mental harassment in Pakistan, he bore no malice towards them and his ‘josh’ was high.