India insists that its armed forces shot down a U.S.-supplied Pakistani Air Force (PAF) F-16 fighter jet during a confrontation, denying a recent U.S. report showing otherwise. In a report published Thursday by Foreign Policy, two unnamed U.S. officials argued that a recent count of Pakistan's F-16s showed none missing after a dogfight with the Indian Air Force (IAF) on February 27 left at least one Russia-built Indian MiG 21 Bison wrecked, forcing its pilot to eject and be captured on the Pakistan-controlled side of the two nations' disputed Kashmir border region. New Delhi, which accidentally shot down one of its own helicopters during the incident, has argued that its pilot claimed one of Islamabad's F-16s during the dogfight. "The Indian Force have confirmed sighting ejections at two different places on that day," India's NDTV cited the military as saying Friday. "The two sightings were at places separated by at least 8-10 km [about 5-6.2 miles]." "One was an IAF MiG 21 Bison and other a PAF aircraft," the statement added. "Electronic signatures gathered by us indicate that the PAF aircraft was a F-16." Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have been hostile since the two states split after independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. They have fought at least four major military conflicts and have engaged in regular cross-border skirmishes over the region of Kashmir, which both claim as their own. The two countries have also accused one another of backing militant groups operating illicitly within the other's territory. Tensions spiked in February when a suicide bomber struck a convoy of Indian paramilitary forces in Kashmir's India-controlled Pulwama district, killing 40. The attack was claimed by Pakistan-based Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed. India responded the following week with rare cross-border airstrikes allegedly targeting a jihadi training camp in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Islamabad responded with outrage and scrambled its own air force to intercept any further breaches of the Line of Control that separates the two South Asian nations. The following day, the two came to aerial blows and conflicting reports emerged of the fallout Initial reports suggested that Pakistan had downed two Indian jets and that New Delhi had taken out one of Islamabad's. The plot thickened with proof of Pakistan's claim with the capture of Indian wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman and the release of photos of a destroyed Indian helicopter. A report published late last month by The Economic Times cited an internal investigation as finding that the latter aircraft was hit by India's own antiair systems. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan returned Varthaman about a week after the incident in a peace gesture coldly received by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, whose forces showed off an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile allegedly fired by Pakistan's F-16 over Indian territory as further proof that the aircraft was used. Pakistan has denied that its F-16s were used at all, a deployment that could potentially violate its supply contract with the U.S. Following Thursday's Foreign Policy report, Islamabad appeared to further cast doubt on New Delhi's claims that Varthaman hit an F-16, or anything at all, by providing ballistics evidence of its own. "IAF claim of hitting F-16 by their Mig 21 before having been shot down by PAF gets exposed," Pakistan Armed Forces spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor tweeted Friday, alongside what appeared to be two R-77 and two R-73 air-to-air missiles in Pakistan's custody. "All 4 missile seeker heads recovered intact from the wreckage & held. Pakistan and its professional Armed Forces staying humble by not drum beating. We have more truth on this to share." As frictions continue over their latest clash, Pakistan has also called India out on its recent anti-satellite missile test. The landmark move, which put India in an exclusive club of space powers including only China, Russia and the United States, was met with reserved criticism by these leading countries, all of whom have strategic ties with both Islamabad and New Delhi.<doc-sep>A U.S. magazine cast serious doubt Friday on India's assertion that it shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet during the two nuclear-armed countries' latest bust-up in February. Citing two unnamed senior US defense officials, Foreign Policy said that U.S. personnel recently conducted a count of Pakistan's F-16s and found none missing. This contradicts a statement from India's Air Vice Marshal R.G.K Kapoor that India downed a Pakistani F-16 in a dogfight over Kashmir on February 27. Pakistan denied at the time that this was the case and claimed to have shot down two Indian warplanes and captured one of their pilots. Foreign Policy quoted one of the officials as saying that Pakistan invited the U.S. to physically count its F-16 fleet, which are manufactured by U.S. firm Lockheed Martin. Many agreements on the sale of U.S. military hardware to third countries include clauses allowing U.S. officials to regularly inspect the equipment. Some of the aircraft were not immediately available, so it took U.S. personnel several weeks to account for all of the jets, the official said. But now the count has been completed, and "all aircraft were present and accounted for," the magazine quoted the official as saying. The Indian Air Force however said it had proof of shooting down the F16. "Radio communication of Pakistan Air Force ... confirms that one of the F-16s that attacked India on February 27 did not return to its base," local media quoted IAF sources as saying. IAF also rejected the report in a statement. "The Indian Forces have confirmed sighting ejections at two different places on that day. The two sightings were at places separated by at least 8-10 km. One was an IAF MiG 21 Bison and other a PAF aircraft. Electronic signatures gathered by us indicate that the PAF aircraft was a F-16," said the statement quoted by Indian broadcaster NDTV. Pakistani Armed Forces Spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor tweeted that "truth always prevails." "Time for India to speak truth about false claims & actual losses on their side including the second aircraft shot down by Pakistan," he said in a re-tweet of the Foreign Policy article. There are no official figures from Pakistan on how many F-16s it has but reported estimates place the number between 70 and 80. In the dogfight Pakistan had also said it shot down two Indian planes, but India said that it lost only one aircraft. Initially Pakistan said it had captured two Indian pilots but the military later clarified it had just one pilot in custody, who was later released. India has separately asked the United States for its view on whether the use of the F-16s by Pakistan was a violation of the end-user agreement. 'Terror camp' The dogfight happened after Pakistani aircraft entered Indian airspace a day after Indian aircraft carried out an airstrike on what it said was a "terrorist training camp" in Pakistan. That in turn was in response to a suicide bombing on February 14 in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops and which was claimed by a militant group based in Pakistan. The news comes as India is gearing for elections this month. Doubt has been cast over the success of India's airstrike, which Amit Shah, president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has claimed killed 250. Pakistan denied that there was any damage or casualties. Independent reporting by multiple local and international outlets who visited the site also found no evidence of a major terrorist training camp -- or of any infrastructure damage at all. The Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab said that open-source satellite imagery indicated "only impacts in the wooded area, with no damage being visible to the surrounding structures." But Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose standing has been bolstered by the raids ahead of elections beginning on April 11, has stuck to his guns, while hitting out at those questioning the success of the strike as unpatriotic. In the next raids, "opposition parties raising these questions can be tied under the jets... so that they can look at the targets," thundered junior foreign minister V.K Singh. Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, heading into a tight election next week, is campaigning on a platform of tough national security, especially with regard to arch foe Pakistan.<doc-sep>No Pakistani F-16s missing says US report, IAF denies WASHINGTON: A US count of the F-16s with Pakistan has found that none of them are "missing" and all the fighter planes were "present and accounted for", according to a report in a prominent American magazine.The finding by the US on the ground in Pakistan "directly contradicts" India's claim that its air force shot down an F-16 fighter jet during an aerial dogfight on February 27.The Indian Air Force on February 28 displayed pieces of the AMRAAM missile, fired by a Pakistani F-16, as evidence to "conclusively" prove that Pakistan deployed US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets during an aerial raid targeting Indian military installations in Kashmir.Pakistan had categorically said that no F-16 fighter jets were used and denied that one of its planes had been downed by the IAF.According to the Foreign Policy magazine, Pakistan invited the United States to physically count its F-16 planes after the incident as part of an end-user agreement signed when the foreign military sale was finalised. "A US count of Pakistan's F-16 fleet has found that all the jets are present and accounted for, a direct contradiction to India's claim that it shot down one of the fighter jets during a February clash," Lara Seligman of the magazine reported on Thursday.The count of the F-16 fighter planes in Pakistan has been completed, and "all aircraft were present and accounted for," an unnamed defence official was quoted as saying by the magazine.The Department of Defence did not immediately respond to a question on its count of F-16 fighter jets in Pakistan. "As details come out, it looks worse and worse for the Indians," MIT professor Vipin Narang told Foreign Policy magazine. "It looks increasingly like India failed to impose significant costs on Pakistan, but lost a plane and a helicopter of its own in the process," he said.Generally, in such agreements, the US requires the receiving country to allow its officials to inspect the equipment regularly to ensure it is accounted for and protected, the news report said.Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the suicide bomber of JeM killed 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14.India launched a counter-terror operation against a JeM training camp in Balakot . The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured its pilot, who was handed over to India on March 1.<doc-sep>
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Pakistan’s F-16 combat jets have all been accounted for, U.S.-based Foreign Policy magazine said, citing U.S. officials, contradicting an Indian air force assessment that it had shot down one of the jets in February. FILE PHOTO - Pakistan Air Force (PAF)'s fighter jet F-16 flies during an air show to celebrate the country's Independence Day in Karachi, Pakistan August 14, 2017. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro India and Pakistan engaged in an aerial battle over the disputed region of Kashmir a day after Indian jets crossed over into Pakistan to attack a suspected camp of anti-India militants. An Indian jet was brought down during the fight and its pilot captured when he ejected on the Pakistani side of the border. India said it, too, had shot down a Pakistani aircraft and the air force displayed pieces of a missile that it said had been fired by a Pakistani F-16 before it went down. Foreign Policy said in a report published on Thursday two U.S. defence officials with direct knowledge of the matter said U.S. personnel had done a count of Pakistan’s F-16s and found none missing. The F-16s are made by Lockheed Martin and, under an end-user agreement, the United States required the host country to allow for regular inspections to ensure they were accounted for and protected, Foreign Policy said. Details of the India-Pakistan air engagement have not been fully provided by either side. If the U.S. report turns out to be true, it would be a further blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had said that India had taught Pakistan a lesson. “Truth always prevails,” Pakistan’s army spokesman said in a Tweet. “Time for India to speak truth about false claims & actual losses on their side.” “CONFIRMED SIGHTING” The Indian Air Force reiterated on Friday that one of its MiG-21 planes had brought down an F-16 in the Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir. Two combat planes went down that day, one was an Indian and the other belonged to Pakistan air force (PAF) the IAF said in a statement. “The Indian Force have confirmed sighting ejections at two different places on that day. The two sightings were at places separated by at least 8-10 km,” it said. “One was an IAF Mig 21 Bison and the other a PAF aircraft. Electronic signatures gathered by us indicate that the PAF aircraft was an F-16,” the air force said. Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, heading into a tight election next week, is campaigning on a platform of tough national security, especially with regard to arch foe Pakistan. New Delhi blames Pakistan for stoking a 30-year revolt in Muslim-majority Kashmir but Islamabad denies any involvement. The success of Indian air strikes on a camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group in northwestern Pakistan has also been thrown into doubt after satellite images showed little sign of damage. High-resolution satellite images reviewed by Reuters last month showed that a religious school run by Jaish appeared to be still standing days after India said its warplanes had hit the Islamist group’s training camp on the site and killed a large number of militants. Foreign Policy said Pakistan had invited U.S. officials to physically count the F-16 planes after the incident. Some of the aircraft were not immediately available for inspection due to the conflict, so it took U.S. personnel several weeks to account for all of the jets, one of the officials was quoted as saying. The count had now been completed and all aircraft “were present and accounted for”, the official was quoted as saying. India has separately asked the United States for its view on whether the use of the F-16s by Pakistan was a violation of the end-user agreement.