The Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Saturday acknowledged losses of aircraft in India's recent military hostilities with Pakistan but dismissed as ‘absolutely incorrect’ Islamabad's claim of downing six Indian fighter jets.
In an interview, General Chauhan asserted it is more important to find out why the aircraft were lost and that the Indian military hit back after rectifying the issues. He declined to specify the losses in terms of numbers but clearly pointed out that the Indian military carried out high-precision strikes deep inside Pakistani territory.
The comments by the top military officer are the Indian military's first clear acknowledgement of losses in the four-day military clashes with the neighbouring country.
"I think what is important is not the jet being downed but why they were being downed," said Gen Chauhan, who is currently is in Singapore to attend defence summit. He was asked whether India lost combat jets during the four-day military clashes with Pakistan earlier this month.
"So the good part is that we were able to understand the tactical mistakes which we made, remedy it, rectify it and then implement it again after two days and flew all our jets again targeting at long range," he said.
"Absolutely incorrect," he said when asked about Pakistan's claim of shooting down six Indian jets during Operation Sindoor.
"I think what is important is not the jets being downed but why they were being downed," added Gen Chauhan, who played a key role in mounting India's massive offensive against Pakistan.
Director General of Air Operations, Air Marshal AK Bharti, had acknowledged that ‘losses are a part of combat’ and said all IAF pilots returned ‘home safely’. He made the remarks at a media briefing on May 11 in responding to a question on Pakistan's claim of downing Indian jets.
Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused the government of misleading the nation on the India-Pakistan conflict and demanded holding of a special session of Parliament immediately, following Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan's acknowledgement of aircraft loss in the hostilities.
In a post on X, Kharge said his party demanded a comprehensive review of India's defence preparedness by an independent expert committee, on the lines of the survey done by the Kargil Review Committee.
"In the wake of the remarks made by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in Singapore in an interview, there are some very important questions that need to be asked. These can only be done if a special session of the Parliament is immediately convened," he said.
"The Modi Government has misled the nation. The fog of war is now clearing," he added. The Congress chief said the IAF pilots risked their lives fighting the enemy, and ‘suffered some losses but our pilots were safe’.
He was referring to Gen Chauhan's interview in which the CDS said that "we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days and flew all our jets again, targeting at long range".
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