India said it shot down one of Pakistan’s fighter jets during an aerial engagement over Kashmir, hours after Pakistan claimed to have downed two Indian jets and captured two pilots.

A spokesperson for the Indian foreign ministry said both sides lost one aircraft each in the same exchange and that an Indian pilot was “missing in action”. The clash took place earlier on Wednesday as Pakistan launched an air raid targeting military installations on the Indian side of the border.

The Pakistan air raid was itself a retaliation for an Indian air force operation on Tuesday to target what Delhi described as a major training camp, well inside Pakistan’s territory, belonging to a militant group. Pakistan denied any damage to infrastructure and described the airstrike as “a grave aggression”.

Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters attempts were still being made to “ascertain the facts” regarding the missing pilot, but confirmed Pakistan “claimed he is in their custody”. He said India’s jets had been on a “high state of readiness” and had “foiled successfully” the Pakistan raid.

Moments after Mr Kumar’s statement, the Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan issued a live TV statement urging India to “sit down and talk” about the escalating crisis.

Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Show all 28 1 /28 Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A Pakistani girl holds a light candle during a vigil for peace in Lahore on March 3 AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures School children react as they celebrate the release of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan at a school in Ahmedabad Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, stands under armed escort near Pakistan-India border in Wagah Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the border with Pakistan EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A videograb allegedly shows the captured Indian Air Force pilot in the custody of Pakistani military SWNS Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri onlookers stand look on as an Indian army helicopter lands near the site where an Indian Air Force jet was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures An Indian soldier gestures near the wreckage of an Indian Air Force fighter jet that was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of a Pakistani religious group Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba brand Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a terrorist at a rally to condemn Indian aggression AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures India's Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the fenced border with Pakistan on February 26 Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of India's ruling Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures People in India burn an effigy that represents Pakistan as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Kashmiris in the border town of Chakoti walk past India-bound cargo trucks that are parked as the road to India is closed AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Workers enter a concrete bunker that they have built in a residential area near the border Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty

Mr Khan compared the current situation to the lead-up to the First and Second World Wars, saying that “all wars in the world have been started on miscalculations”.

In an apparent reference to their shared nuclear capabilities, he said: “I ask India, with our weapons capability ... on both sides, can we afford a miscalculation? It will neither be in my control nor [Indian prime minister Narendra] Modi’s.

“Better sense should prevail,” he concluded.

Earlier, Pakistan claimed to have shot down not one but two Indian aircraft. An armed forces spokesperson said two Indian pilots had been detained, one of whom was being treated in a military hospital, and shared a video purporting to show one of the pilots, bloodied and blindfolded.

The recent chain of events started on 14 February with the deadliest car bombing in the history of the Kashmiri separatist insurgency, when a local man blew up an Indian paramilitary convoy, killing 40 officers.

India blamed Pakistan for harbouring the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militant group which claimed the attack. India said its operation on Tuesday morning, the first airstrikes across the Kashmir line of control since 1971, were “based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks”.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday morning the Pakistani police claimed Indian shelling across the treaty-agreed line of control in Kashmir had killed at least six civilians on the Pakistan side.

Indian and Pakistani forces regularly exchange fire across the border region, but observers say fighting has been particularly fierce since news broke of India’s air sortie on Tuesday.