New Delhi: The Central Government, back in February displaying the pieces of the AMRAAM missile asserted that Pakistan made use of the US-manufactured ‘F-16 fighter jets’ during the aerial face-off targeting Indian military installations in Kashmir. The same claim has been rubbished by United States.
Contrary to the Indian official statement, Foreign Policy magazine said, “Two senior US defence officials with direct knowledge of the situation told Foreign Policy that U.S. personnel recently counted Islamabad's F-16s and found none missing." It further stated that after the incident, Islamabad had requested United States to physically count its F-16 planes. This was done in accordance with the ‘end-user agreement’ which was signed during the finalisation of foreign military sale.
Concerned about India misleading international community about Pakistan Foreign Policy said, "It is possible that in the heat of combat, Varthaman, flying a vintage MiG-21 Bison, got a lock on the Pakistani F-16, fired, and genuinely believed he scored a hit. But the count, conducted by U.S. authorities on the ground in Pakistan, sheds doubt on New Delhi's version of events, suggesting that Indian authorities may have misled the international community about what happened that day."
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Pakistan, from the very start has maintained that it had successfully shot down two IAF planes during the aerial dogfight, a statement which India has been blatantly denying. Also, the reports will be a bummer for the Modi Government as they were influencing the voters by displaying their patriotism through the Balakot Airstrike for the ensuing Lok Sabha Elections.