KARACHI/MUMBAI: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan blamed India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for “whipping up war hysteria” over claims that India shot down a Pakistani F-16 during a standoff in February, saying the truth is always the best policy.
US-based Foreign Policy magazine, citing US officials, said all of Pakistan’s F-16 combat jets had been accounted for, contradicting an Indian air force assessment that it had shot down one of the jets.
“The truth always prevails and is always the best policy,” Khan said in a Tweet. “BJP’s attempt to win elections through whipping up war hysteria and false claims of downing a Pak F 16 has backfired with US Defense officials also confirming that no F16 was missing from Pakistan’s fleet.”
Nuclear-armed neighbors 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. He was later released.
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 US defense officials with direct knowledge of the matter said US personnel had done a count of Pakistan’s F-16s and found none missing.
Details of the India-Pakistan air engagement have not been fully provided by either side. If the US 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, ahead of elections next week.
The BJP 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.
BJP spokesman Bizay Sonkar Shastri dismissed Khan’s accusations.
“Firstly, their (Pakistan’s) habit of lying is no secret to the world. Secondly, this is absolutely clear that the roots of terrorism lie in Pakistan and terrorism is cultivated in Pakistan,” he told Reuters.
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.
Pakistan closed its airspace amid the standoff but most commercial air traffic has since resumed and major airports have opened.
Pakistan offered to open one air route on Friday, an Indian government official said, without specifying details and declining to be named as the matter was not public.
An Air India official said on condition of anonymity that Pakistan has opened one of its 11 air routes, from the southern side, adding that the carrier began operations via this route on Friday.
“Pakistan has opened one air route over India on April 4th, it is a north-west bound route,” Mujtaba Baig, spokesman for Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority, told Reuters on Saturday.
An email sent to the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation was not immediately answered. Air India did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Pakistan PM accuses India of war hysteria over downed F-16 claim
Pakistan PM accuses India of war hysteria over downed F-16 claim
- Foreign Policy magazine report contradicts India, says all of Pakistan’s F-16 jets accounted for
- Details of India-Pakistan air engagement in February have not been fully provided by either side
Pakistan, 21 other countries condemn Israeli West Bank measures, warn of ‘de facto annexation’
- Joint statement says settlement expansion violates international law, cites UN resolutions, ICJ advisory opinion
- Signatories include European and Latin American nations such as France and Brazil , alongside Muslim countries
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and 21 other countries, including France, Brazil, Spain and Denmark, on Tuesday condemned sweeping Israeli measures to expand control over the occupied West Bank, warning the steps risk advancing “unacceptable de facto annexation” and undermining prospects for a two-state solution.
In a joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of countries from the Middle East, Europe and Latin America, as well as the secretaries general of the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the signatories urged Israel to immediately reverse recent decisions reclassifying Palestinian land and accelerating settlement activity.
The statement marks a broadening of international criticism beyond Muslim-majority states that have long denounced Israeli settlement expansion, bringing together countries like Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Luxembourg alongside Arab and other Muslim-majority nations.
“Israel’s illegal settlements, and decisions designed to further them, are a flagrant violation of international law, including previous United Nations Security Council Resolutions and the 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice,” the ministers said.
They added the measures were “part of a clear trajectory that aims to change the reality on the ground and to advance unacceptable de facto annexation,” warning that they undermine ongoing efforts for regional peace and stability, including a proposed 20-Point Plan for Gaza, and threaten prospects for broader regional integration.
The ministers called on Israel “to reverse them immediately, to respect its international obligations, and to refrain from actions that would result in permanent changes to the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian Territory.”
The latest statement follows mounting concern over Israel’s land and settlement policies in the West Bank.
Last week, Pakistan and seven other Muslim nations condemned Israel’s decision to approve land registration procedures in parts of the West Bank for the first time since 1967, a move widely seen as easing the path for settlement expansion and potential annexation.
Members of the Israeli cabinet have backed measures to tighten administrative control over areas of the West Bank, including Area C, which makes up around 60 percent of the territory and remains under full Israeli security and administrative control under the Oslo accords.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, excluding Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, alongside around three million Palestinians.
Settlements are considered illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.
In the latest statement, the foreign ministers reiterated their rejection of “all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem,” and said they oppose “any form of annexation.”
“In view of the alarming escalation in the West Bank, we also call on Israel to put an end to settler violence against Palestinians, including by holding those responsible accountable,” they added.
The ministers pledged to take “concrete steps, in accordance with international law,” to counter the expansion of illegal settlements and policies or threats of forcible displacement and annexation.
Highlighting sensitivities around Jerusalem during Ramadan, they stressed the importance of preserving the historic and legal status quo at the city’s holy sites, recognizing the special role of the Hashemite custodianship of Jordan.
Reaffirming support for a negotiated settlement, the signatories said they remain committed to achieving “a just, comprehensive and lasting peace” on the basis of a two-state solution, in line with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant UN resolutions, based on the June 4, 1967 lines.
“As reflected in the New York Declaration, the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is imperative for regional peace, stability and integration,” the statement said, adding that only the realization of an independent, sovereign and democratic Palestinian state would allow coexistence among the region’s peoples and states.
