Pakistan Air Force

jet shot down; Indian pilot ‘missing in action’

Pakistan official summoned

IAF's Mi-17 transport chopper crashes in J&K's Budgam, five dead

Pakistan army spokesperson claims two Indian jets shot down, one pilot arrested

In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts in… https://t.co/mH0HhZjsbR — Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) 1551248355000

Defence sources deny Pakistan's claim

Flight operations resume after being temporarily shut

Pakistan closes airports of major cities

(Image courtesy: Flight Radar 24)

Ceasefire violation by Pakistan across LOC

One Mig 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force was shot down and its pilot has been ‘missing in action’, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Wednesday. Kumar also told reporters that one fighter jet of Pakistan Air Force was also shot down in the aerial engagement by IAF's Mig 21 Bison. The Pakistani jet was seen falling down on the other side by the Indian ground forces, he said."We lost one Mig 21 jet and the pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that the pilot is in their custody. We have to ascertain these facts," Kumar said.The air-to-air engagement took place after PAF jets violated Indian air space to target military installations on the Indian side.The press briefing came soon after reports emerged that jets from Pakistan Air Force have violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors. The attack was successfully repelled by the Indian AIr Force, Kumar added.Pakistan deputy high commissioner Syed Haider Shah summoned by the ministry of external affairs, according to ANI.Meanwhile, five persons died after a Mi-17 transport chopper crashed in Budgam district, reported ANI.One of the deceased persons has been identified as Kifayat Hussain Ganaie, a loc al resident, while the identity of other four -- believed to be IAF personnel -- is being ascertained, officials said.Spokesperson of Pakistan armed forces, Major General Asif Ghafoor, in a tweet, claimed that two Indian Air Force jets were shot down by Pakistan Air Force and one Indian pilot was also arrested.However, briefing the media, he added that Pakistan had "no engagement with Indian aircraft which crashed on the Indian side (in Budgam)".There are no reports of any IAF jet suffering damage in action by India's adversaries, PTI reported quoting defence sources.Flight operations in North India resumed after they were temporarily suspended in the wake of the security situation along the Pakistan border. Flight operations resumed after NOTAM (Notice to Airmen to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route) was withdrawn, reported ANI.On Wednesday morning, airports of Srinagar, Jammu, Leh and several other cities were closed for civilian air traffic."The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency," an official of the Airport Authority of India told PTI.Flight operations were also been suspended at Amritsar and Dehradun airport, reported ANI.Entire airspace north of Delhi vacated: official sources. Pakistan air space too was closed, AFP reported quoting Pakistan's aviation authority.Pakistan immediately stopped its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports, reported ANI.Flight operations were suspended across major airports in Pakistan's Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing.On Wednesday, Pakistan violated ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector in Baramulla district, officials said. The Indian Army strongly retaliated and effectively to the cross border firing.