Air force official says eight Indian aircraft downed in April conflict

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s deputy air force chief on Thursday said India was still trying to understand what happened during the April conflict, saying that Pakistani forces downed multiple Indian aircraft, including Rafale jets.

Speaking at a press conference along with the ISPR chief marking “Marka-i-Haq”, Air Vice Marshal Tariq Mahmood Ghazi said that Pakistan’s Air Force closely monitored Indian military activity and maintained what he described as strong defensive safeguards along the border.

“India is still trying to figure out what happened,” Ghazi said, adding that Pakistani forces were tracking every movement of the adversary.

He said that Pakistan had established a strong defensive posture along the frontier, preventing Indian forces from approaching close to the border areas.

“The enemy could not dare come near our border,” he said.

Ghazi said that India had to realign its military deployment during the conflict, while saying Pakistan’s response came as a “major surprise” to New Delhi.

He said that Pakistan downed eight Indian aircraft, including four Rafale jets, one Su-30, one MiG-29, one Mirage 2000 and another aircraft, along with an unmanned aerial vehicle.

“We will say for the first time that our score is 0–8,” he said.

He said that Pakistan conducted offensive flights and followed coordinated tri-services operational planning during the conflict.

Military officials in Pakistan have repeatedly highlighted air and multi-domain operations during the April tensions with India, which both countries have described in sharply contrasting terms.