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.
Business
Standard : 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.
