[Watch] Pakistan Retracts IAF Pilot Custody Claim After India’s Strong Rebuttal

Bhubaneswar: Hours after Indian Air Force asserted that all its pilots were back home, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, in a late night presser, accepted that Pakistan had no IAF pilot in its custody.

“I can confirm very clearly, we don’t have any pilot in custody. These are all social media chatters and part of fake news and propaganda that has been generated from multiple sources,” he said.

Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder had earlier reported, quoting Pakistani military sources, that a female Indian Air Force officer is in their custody. He also mentioned that  two of the 36 French fighter jets – purchased for a staggering 8 billion euros a few years ago – had been downed in the course of the conflict between May 7 and 10.

While neither confirming nor denying these claims, Air Marshal AK Bharti, on Sunday evening’s detailed media briefing, said  “We are in a combat scenario and losses are a part of it. Question is have we achieved our objective? Answer is a thumping yes. As for details, at this time I would not like to comment on that as we are still in combat and give advantage to adversary. All our pilots are back home.”

Also Read: Did India Lose Rafale Fighter Jet In Pakistan Conflict? Check DGAO’s Answer