According to media reports, today Pakistani Air Force violated LoC. Reports state that 3 F-16 of PAF were involved in the incursion. However, PAF jets were pushed back by Indian air patrol. According to ANI, in the retaliatory fire, a PAF aircraft was also shot down by the Indian side. The ANI report states that the PAF aircraft crashed across the border after it was shot down.
Pakistan Air Force's F-16 that violated Indian air space shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector. pic.twitter.com/8emKMVpWKi
— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019
Parachute seen as Pakistan Air Force's F-16 was going down, condition of the pilot is unknown https://t.co/yfcHxDjlXn
— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019
A source has sent this picture, apparently of Pakistani F-16’s crash near LoC. No confirmation yet, but it may have crashed near Rumlidhara (on our side) in Nowshera sector. pic.twitter.com/Au9aLSLjvU
— Rahul Pandita (@rahulpandita) February 27, 2019
PAF’s incursion comes after Indian Air Force bombed high value targets in Balakot, KPK. o avenge the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, according to several reports, IAF jets dropped payloads at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan last night. 12 Mirage 2000 jets took part in the operation that dropped 1000 Kg bombs on terror camps across the LOC, completely destroying it, reported ANI. The IAF air strikes completely destroyed Balakot, Chakothi and Muzaffarabad’s terror launch pads across the LOC and JeM control rooms were also destroyed.
According to senior journalist Megha Prasad the Indian Air Force (IAF) has destroyed Alpha 3 Control rooms and launch pads of Jaish-e-Muhammad in Balakot, Muzaffarabad and Chakothi.
Balakot is 50 KM away from PoK Muzzafarabad sector. So, basically IAF has gone inside 50 km deep and dropped bombs on Pakistani terror camps. It also means that it has attacked the Pakistani military directly. It is India’s deepest strike against Pakistan since 1971, and IAF jets returned without any casualties, that’s a very big thing. It’s a super successful mission.
According to Ankit Panda, the recent airstrikes by the IAF is a notable case of a conventional strike by one nuclear power on another. Others include the 1969 Zhenbao Island crisis between the PRC and the USSR and the 1999 India-Pakistan Kargil War. Neither saw conventional air power used against a nuclear-armed adversary’s territory.
According to a Firstpost report, Balakot is one of the Jaish-e-Muhammad’s oldest and best-known training camps, which has found mention in many past criminal cases in India and abroad. Balakot is of great significance for Jihadists. Ayesha Jalal in her book “Partisans of Allah” described Balakot as the epicenter of Jihad in South Asia.