Defeat accepted in the skirmish.
That wasn't the point of the post though. It's about what could have happened if the pilot wasn't returned so quickly and what could happen next.
If you think this is over, it really isn't mate.
Perhaps you actually have NO idea what happened. An attack on Indian Paramilitary Force by a Kashmiri from IoK, trained in India and using explosives made in India, was blamed on Pakistan within minutes of it happening (as expected). Modi and BJP jumped on the opportunity and decided to carry out a 'surgical strike' against so called targets around 70 km's inside Azad Kashmir.
IAF was tasked with the mission which used stand off weapons from ranges close to the LoC, perhaps IAF digressed from the plan when chased by PAF or simply missed the targets and bombed open areas. However, the Indian Authorities claimed that 300 terrorists were killed in the Indian Airstrike and Indians rejoiced, BJP got a massive boost in their ratings.
Pakistanis were informed by the authorities that IAF had attempted to undertake a strike across LoC which was thwarted by PAF after which IAF scrambled out of Azad Kashmir deploying stand off weapons from the LoC, which too failed to hit the intended mark. The general public was fuming and was demanding action against India. Initially, the Military and Civilian leadership, it appeared, wanted to escalate the situation only diplomatically and gain sympathy from the world. However, the blowback from the population was so severe that the Government was left with no option but to strike back. And strike back we did, extremely professionally, in broad daylight, and after open challenge.
After our strikes, IAF for some reason decided to engage PAF with Bisons along with MKIs; result, a Bison and an MKI was shot down by the PAF. Fortunately for IAF, the MKI fell in IoK whereas the Bison fell within Azad Kashmir after which the IAF pilot was captured and treated professionally. As a goodwill gesture, Pakistan released the pilot within 2 days.
And so India, after failure of IAF, decided to use ballistic missiles instead and was duly notified that Pakistan would launch 3 Missiles for each Indian Missile launched. It was only when India substantiated the readiness and willingness by Pakistan to escalate each strike by a factor of 3, did India back down........bow down and resort to big talk.
Ofcourse, Modi and IAF have been crying since, missing the Rafales, which would have made a difference. But that also makes me wonder, what happened to the over-hyped MKIs and Phalcons? How did PAF get the better of IAF within IAF airspace? And will the arrival of Rafales resolve all those issues?? What happens when IAF has to square off against China's J-20s?? How about a 2-front war?
Perhaps it's time India made friends with her neighbors!