india

Updated: Feb 27, 2019 17:59 IST

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has expressed hope that the missing Indian Air Force pilot returns home soon.

“I’m sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times,” he tweeted hours after the government confirmed that one pilot who engaged Pakistani jets that violated Indian airspace Wednesday morning was missing in action.

🇮🇳 I’m sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times. 🇮🇳 — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 27, 2019

External affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India is verifying Islamabad’s Pakistani claims.

Also read: IAF pilot who engaged Pak jets missing in action, says Govt

Pakistan had earlier said its air force shot down two Indian fighter jets on Wednesday morning and claims to have captured two Indian Air Force pilots. One of them is in hospital, Pakistan’s military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said.