No Pak F-16 shot down by India claims US magazine

A prominent US magazine has denied India’s claim that it had shot down an F-16 fighter plane of Pakistan. The said magazine said that all F-16 aircraft in the Pakistani Air Force fleet are safe. This claim is being presented at a time when in front of the world India presented all the evidence of the F-16 being shot down.

After the Pulwama terror attack, in exchange for India’s air strikes, a few fighter aircrafts of Pakistan Air Force crossed the Line of control and entered into India. Indian Air Force shot down one F-16 of Pakistan after chasing these planes. India too had lost one plane and its pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan had crash landed on the other side of the LoC. At the time, the news was also in the headlines around the world, because the F-16 aircraft is the  best fourth generation aircraft in the United States. America has given it to Pakistan. On this many questions were raised on this plane. The American administration too took this incident very seriously.

The magazine says that two senior U.S. defense officials associated with defense said that no aircraft is missing in F-16 count in Islamabad. This report says that this conclusion directly contradicts the Indian Air Force’s statement. It has been said in the report that India had cited the US-made AIM 120 air-to-air missile as evidence. Significantly, these missiles can only be fired from US made F-16s.

After these allegations, India had asked the US government to investigate whether the use of F16 against India by Pakistan was a violation of the terms of the Foreign Trade Agreement. According to the said magazine, after giving these evidence by the Indians, Pakistan had urged the United States to count these planes. An American official said that due to frequent firing on the border between India-Pak, there was difficulty and delay in investigating the case.