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
Islamabad facilitating thousands of stranded Pakistanis in Gulf amid Iran conflict, FM says
- Pakistani religious pilgrims, visitors are being evacuated via land routes due to airspace shutdowns
- Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar says ‘our consistent message is de-escalation, restraint and return to dialogue’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said that Islamabad was working round the clock to assist thousands of Pakistanis stranded in Arab Gulf countries, reiterating his country’s readiness to facilitate diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.
Tensions in the region heightened on Saturday following coordinated strikes by the US and Israel against Iran, diminishing prospects of a peaceful settlement of Tehran’s long-running dispute with Western countries and Tel Aviv over its nuclear program.
Tehran subsequently targeted American bases in Gulf states, including the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan, prompting their governments to issue condemnations. The Saudi foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned Iran’s drone attack on the US embassy building in Riyadh.
Describing the Gulf situation as “very fluid,” Dar said regional airspace shutdowns had forced Pakistani religious pilgrims and visitors in Gulf states, also home to 4.5 million Pakistani expatriates, to mostly rely on land routes for their exit.
“The safety of Pakistanis abroad and the sovereignty of Pakistan remain our foremost priorities... Our crisis management unit is operational 24 hours to facilitate the stranded Pakistanis,” he said at a media briefing in Islamabad on Tuesday, adding that Pakistani missions in Tehran, Zahedan, Mashhad, Riyadh, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Kuwait City and Manama were actively assisting nationals.
“If someone’s visa is expiring, as a visitor, they’re are getting fully cooperated. Similarly, if people are transiting from Saudi Arabia to other countries by road, then the other Gulf countries are also facilitating and helping them.”
Around 35,000 Pakistanis were currently in Iran and evacuation through Azerbaijan remained another viable option for those in northern Iran. So far, 64 Pakistanis have crossed into Azerbaijan, with dozens already flown onward, including 42 who reached Lahore on March 2, according to Dar.
Flights between Pakistan and Azerbaijan remain operational and Baku is providing visa-on-arrival and logistical support to stranded Pakistani nationals.
Dar said 4,543 Pakistani visitors were stranded in the UAE and around 1,400 in Qatar due to the conflict and airspace disruptions, adding that Saudi Arabia, home to more than 2 million Pakistani expatriates, remained relatively stable, with partial air operations continuing via Oman.
Land corridors between Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Qatar were being widely used and travelers were being allowed to transit by road, he said, thanking authorities in these countries for facilitating Pakistani nationals.
ISLAMABAD’S DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS FOR PEACE
The foreign minister said he had been in contact with foreign ministers from Turkiye, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Oman as well as European Union representatives over the past three days to help de-escalate the tensions.
“Our consistent message is de-escalation, restraint and return to dialogue,” he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is personally overseeing the situation and has convened Pakistani parliamentary leaders from all parties for a detailed briefing, he added.
In discussions involving US Secretary of State Marco Rubio prior to the US-Israeli strikes, Dar said, both Oman and Islamabad had been considered potential venues for US-Iran talks and Pakistan had conveyed that it was “fully ready” to host negotiations.
“Islamabad is available for any mediation or facilitation,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s policy did not support a regime change in Iran and focused solely on dialogue and regional stability.
