TEHRAN, Mar31-India has purportedly shared critical evidence with the United States that indicate Pakistan's air force used F-16 fighter jets to attack Indian military positions during the recent flare-up between the two nuclear neighbors, a move that runs against existing military agreements between Washington and Islamabad.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -Indian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told local media on Saturday that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had indeed used F-16 fighters in its February 27 strikes in Jammu and Kashmir’s Nowshera sector as part of attempts to retaliate an Indian Air Force (IAF) strike on a militant training camp in Pakistan’s Balakot the previous day.
The Indian officials said the evidence of their claim, including call signs associated with PAF F-16 jets and specific details of the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air To Air Missile (AMRAAM) used by the PAF jets, had been shared with the US through intelligence channels.
The details in missile debris from the February 27 strikes correspond to the consignment lot sold by the US to Pakistan, the officials added.
Indian and Pakistani fighter jets staged tit-for-tat cross-border raids last month as they wrangled over a bomb attack in the Indian-controlled Kashmir that New Delhi said was conducted by the Pakistani Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group and left at least 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead.
Pakistan said it had shot down two Indian MiG-21 Bison fighter jets and captured one of their pilots during the dogfight. Islamabad later returned the pilot, identified in reports as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, to India.
Pakistan bought several batches of the Lockheed Martin F-16s from Washington before relations between the two sides soured over the fight against the Taliban and then US President Barack Obama cut off subsidized sales to Islamabad in 2016.
India investigating possible friendly fire in chopper crash
Meanwhile, Indian media reported on Friday that investigators had found that an Indian air defense missile was fired shortly before the crash of a Mi-17 V5 helicopter at Budgam, near Srinagar in the disputed region of Kashmir on February 27, which left six air force personnel and a civilian dead.
The Indian daily newspaper Economic Times said the investigators were examining the sequence of events which preceded the crash.
The final moments prior to the crash, including if the IFF (Identity, Friend or Foe) systems were switched on or not, are being carefully looked at to determine what went wrong, according to ET sources.
According to the report, the investigation is seeking to determine “if multiple layers of safeguards meant to protect assets from friendly fire failed and how systems need to be improved to prevent any such incident in the future”.
Sources told the daily that the air defense missile, which is believed to be of Israeli origin, was activated following after an air defense alert was issued, signalling presence of Pakistan Air Force jets along the border.
Unnamed sources claimed that the alert meant Pakistani jets may have breached the border. “A slow moving target like the Mi-17 helicopter could potentially be mistaken for a low flying armed UAV homing into an air base.”
Eyewitness have reported that a loud explosion was heard in the air before the chopper crashed in a trail of smoke, indicating a possible catastrophic external event contributed to the incident.
The Russian-made Mil Mi-17 is one of the world's sturdiest military helicopters in service across the world and is not usually prone to technical faults of catastrophic nature.
Sources in the air force told ET they have made it clear that the military would not shy away from initiating court-martial proceedings against personnel if they are found blameworthy in the inquiry, the ET report further said.
The incident took place on the same day that the Pakistan’s military shot down two Indian aircraft in the Islamabad-administered side of Kashmir and arrested one of the pilots on ground.
Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since partition in 1947. Both countries claim all of Kashmir and have fought three wars over the territory.
Indian troops are in constant clashes with armed groups seeking Kashmir’s independence or its merger with Pakistan.
India regularly accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants and allowing them across the restive frontier in an attempt to launch attacks. Pakistan strongly denies the allegation.
Source: Press TV
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