ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday termed a gallantry award given to Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was shot down and captured by Pakistani forces in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in February 2019, a “classic case of Indian fabrications to appease domestic audience,” the Pakistani foreign office said. 
Varthaman, then an Indian Air Force wing commander, was held by locals and taken into custody by the Pakistani armed forces on February 27, 2019 after his MIG-21 warplane was shot down during a dogfight between Pakistani and Indian air forces over Kashmir. 
Pakistan released the captured Indian pilot as a “gesture of peace” a few days later, after he had enjoyed the famous “fantastic” tea in a video clip massively shared online. 
In the dogfight over Kashmir, Pakistan said it had downed two Indian fighter jets, while India confirmed it had lost only one plane. New Delhi said it had shot down a Pakistani F-16 jet too, a claim denied by Islamabad and international experts. 
On Monday, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Vir Chakra medal, the third highest gallantry award, on Varthaman for showing “conspicuous courage.” 

The Pakistani foreign office rejected the Indian claim of downing a Pakistani jet and said the move was aimed at hiding “embarrassment.” 
“The citation of the award to the downed Indian pilot is a classic case of Indian fabrications and pure fantasy to appease domestic audience and hide the embarrassment,” it said in a statement. 
“International experts and US officials have already confirmed that no Pakistani F-16 was shot down on the day, after taking stock of Pakistani F-16 aircraft. India’s insistence on propagating a lie that has been thoroughly exposed is ludicrous and nonsensical.” 
Islamabad said granting military honors for “imaginary feats of gallantry” was contrary to every norm of military conduct. “By giving such award, also as an afterthought, India has only made a mockery of itself,” the statement read. 
The 2019 aerial combat occurred two weeks after a deadly suicide attack in India-administered Kashmir’s Pulwama killed 40 Indian soldiers. 
Later that year, India revoked autonomy of the part of Kashmir it controls, and in response, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties and suspended bilateral trade. Since then, the relations between the two South Asian nations are at the lowest ebb. 
Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since their independence from the British rule in 1947. Both countries claim the region in its entirety and have fought two of their three wars over it.