There were eyewitness accounts as well as electronic evidence for it, the Ministry of External Affairs had earlier said. (Photo: Chandra Deep Kumar)

Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday admitted the Indian military knew the identity of the Pakistani pilot whose F-16 fighter aircraft was shot down by Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-21 Bison, piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman

Sitharaman, while addressing questions from the audience at Aaj Tak's 'Suraksha Sabha', first seemed non-committal when asked if the forces knew of the Pakistani pilot. But once prodded by India Today TV's Rahul Kanwal and Abhishek Bhalla, she conceded.

"Yes. We know," Sitharaman said, without divulging any further information.

There were eyewitness accounts as well as electronic evidence for it, the Ministry of External Affairs had earlier said.

The MEA had also said evidence on the use of F-16 fighter jets by Pakistan is there in the form of parts of AMRAAM missile recovered from the site, which is carried only by F-16 aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force.

In the aerial combat on February 27, India had lost the MiG-21 Bison aircraft and its pilot Wing Commander Varthaman was captured by Pakistan. Varthaman downed a F-16 fighter jet of Pakistan Air Force by firing an RR-73 air-to-air missile before his MiG-21 Bison was hit during a fierce dogfight.

Pakistan claimed it downed two Indian jets, and rejected IAF's assertion that a F-16 aircraft was shot down by it during the dogfight.