RAWALPINDI: Indian Air Force violated airspace along the Line of Control (LoC) late on Monday, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR) said.
Indian Air Force violated airspace along the Line of Control (LoC), Pakistan Air Force immediately responded to deal with an emergency situation and forced the Indian planes to return to their territory.
Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesperson Pakistan Armed Forces, in a post on his official Twitter account, stated that the Indian Air Force violated Line of Control. Pakistani Air Force "immediately scrambled", causing the Indian planes to return to their country.
In an other tweet, DG ISPR said that Indian aircrafts intruded from Muzafarabad sector, which faced timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force.
Indian planes released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot. No casualties or damage occurred, said DG ISPR.
Earlier on the day, Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan had expressed satisfaction on the readiness of Pakistan Armed Forces, saying: "Pak forces are fully prepared for a befitting response to any Indian aggression or misadventure.”
Last week, The DG ISPR held a press conference in Rawalpindi, during which he reiterated Prime Minister Imran Khan's proposal of talks to Delhi.
Pakistan and India's relations have been tense since the Pulwama attack on February 14.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/4...pakistan-air-force-immediately-scrambled-ispr
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Eyewitness account
Villagers in the area said only one person was wounded in the attack and they knew of no fatalities, reported Reuters.
From what villagers could see, the Indian attack had missed its supposed target as the bombs dropped exploded about a kilometre away from any structure.
Mohammad Ajmal, a 25 year-old villager in the area, where the attack took place, said he had heard four loud bangs in succession just before 3:00am.
“We couldn’t tell what had happened. It was only in the morning that we figured out it was an attack,” he told Reuters after visiting the site, in a wooded hilltop area.
“We saw fallen trees and one damaged house, and four craters where the bombs had fallen.”
Fida Hussain Shah, a 46 year-old farmer, said he and other villagers had found pieces of Indian ordnance that had splintered pine trees on the hill but the only casualty was a man sleeping in his house when shrapnel broke the windows.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1918363/1-indian-warplanes-violate-loc-drop-payload-near-balakot/
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Defence Analyst Views
Brigadier (retd) Asad Munir echoed the same opinion. “The IAF should have footage from the aircraft that dropped the bombs – they should release the visuals to back their claim.”
Munir pointed out that even the Indian media was using images shared by ISPR. “Why did their foreign secretary not entertain questions in the press conference? Even the Indian side is confused about the location of the ‘attack’.”
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Observing that the images from the site issued by the ISPR did not show remnants of an explosion, Hussain suggested the possibility that the bomb may have ‘malfunctioned’ or the IAF pilot “may have forgotten to turn off the safety switch before unloading it.”
He maintained that both Pakistan and India have strong air defence. “The two sides are able to carry out swift surprise air raids within 30 kilometres of the border without being intercepted by the adversary’s fighters that are on ground alert,” he said.
“The misconception about immediate response has to be demystified. A fighter jet flies at the speed of 1000s of kilometres per hour – it can reach the target area within minutes. The response time for a fighter jet to reach incursion site varies from at least five to 10 minutes.”
“It is impossible to counter the attack, however, we can retaliate,” he explained. “Be it Pakistan, India or even the United States – no country can have fighter aircraft on watch 24/7. It is too costly.”
https://tribune.com.pk/story/191867...nce-analysts-weigh-india-escalates-situation/