On Wednesday, February 27, there was an aggravation of the conflict between India and Pakistan. In the morning, the head of the press service of the Pakistani armed forces, Major General Asif Ghafoor, said that the country's air force had shot down two Indian military aircraft that, according to him, violated Pakistani airspace.
"One of the planes fell in Azad Kashmir, the other - in the area of the control line," said the head of the Pakistani press service on Twitter.
Then, during a media briefing, Ghafur clarified that two pilots of downed Indian aircraft were detained. One of them was injured and was taken to hospital, the second is in custody.
Later, local media also published a video that allegedly shows interrogation of a captive Indian pilot.
In New Delhi, said that the Indian Air Force did suffer losses in an air battle with Pakistani aircraft, but only one aircraft was shot down. Information about the pilot is being specified.
“One Pakistani Air Force fighter was shot down by an Indian MiG-21. In this air battle, we lost one MiG-21, the pilot went missing. In turn, the Pakistani side claims that he was captured. We are clarifying this data, ”said the official representative of the Indian Foreign Ministry, Ravish Kumar.
In addition, on Wednesday in the media there was information that the Indian Air Force shot down the Pakistani F-16 fighter, which, according to New Delhi, violated the military space of India. According to the Indian news agency ANI, the pilot managed to eject and open the parachute, the plane fell on Pakistani territory. This information was not commented by the Indian side.
The official representative of the armed forces of Pakistan, Major General Asif Ghafoor, for his part, denied reports of the downed aircraft.
"It is worth noting that the Pakistani F-16 did not suffer, because today Pakistan did not lift the F-16 into the air," Gafur said during a media briefing.
Airspace in northern India has been declared temporarily closed for security reasons. Local airlines, as well as international airlines, have stopped transporting passengers on routes passing through Kashmir. Pakistan has closed five airports, including
air harbor located in the capital of the country and the second
the largest city is Lahore.
- Indian border troops on the border with Pakistan
- Reuters
- © Mukesh Gupta
Calls for restraint
Moscow stated that they were seriously concerned about the escalation of the conflict between New Delhi and Islamabad. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured that the Kremlin was monitoring the situation.
“We are extremely concerned about the news coming in, we are very closely monitoring the situation and, of course, we urge all parties to show restraint,” said Peskov.
Earlier, the director of the second Asia department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Zamir Kabulov, told RIA Novosti that “India and Pakistan are friendly states of Russia,” and the relations between the two countries are extremely important for the stability of the entire region. Thus, Moscow hopes for a quick de-escalation of the situation.
In addition, according to the diplomat, the aggravation of the conflict should not affect the Afghan settlement.
“India, of course, is an important player, but it’s hard for me to imagine how this will affect (the escalation of the conflict - RT ). There are concrete talks between the Taliban and the Americans, and the future of Afghanistan should be discussed by the Afghans themselves, ”Kabulov noted.
Recall, Kashmir is a region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, the rights to the territory of which are disputed by several states at once. Part of this region is part of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, the other part is under the control of Pakistan. Also in the region there is the unrecognized state Azad Kashmir, which is also controlled by Pakistan. Also part of the territory is under the control of China.
Kashmir is bordered by Pakistan, India, China and Afghanistan.
Thus, Beijing is directly interested in maintaining peace in the region. In response to the events on Wednesday, the PRC Foreign Ministry called on New Delhi and Islamabad to show restraint.
“The international community is closely monitoring the situation. The Chinese position on this issue remains clear and clear. We hope that India and Pakistan as two important countries of South Asia will be able to show restraint, ”said Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kahn.
In Turkey, they called for resolving the conflict peacefully. At the same time, Ankara expressed readiness to help resolve the conflict between the two countries.
“We are very concerned about the aggravation of relations between India and Pakistan and appeal to both parties not to lose their sanity. Avoid escalation. Kashmir has been a problem area for many years, and this issue needs to be resolved as soon as possible within the framework of international norms. We are ready to contribute to the settlement of the situation, ”said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt авavuşoлуlu.
Longtime conflict and parliamentary elections
The situation is complicated by the fact that both Pakistan and India possess nuclear weapons, and there is a danger of their use. Boris Volkhonsky, associate professor at the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Moscow State University, thinks that this will not work, although it is important for both countries to show that they are not ready to retreat in this confrontation.
“Since both countries are nuclear powers, I think there are no suicides in either country or the other. Therefore, there is a great hope that all this will be limited to a local conflict, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.
Another important factor that needs to be taken into account in the current situation is the parliamentary elections in India, which will be held from April 7 to May 12.
“And since the result of these elections is not guaranteed for the ruling party of India, it is now important for the government to show that it is ready to pursue a hard line. Therefore, I think that for some time the exchange of blows will continue, ”concluded Volkhonsky.
Pakistan position
Recall, on Wednesday morning, Pakistani air forces launched air strikes along the line of demarcation in Kashmir. The Pakistan Foreign Ministry explained that this was a demonstration of the country's position in the flared conflict.
“Today, Pakistan’s air forces have launched strikes against control lines from Pakistan’s airspace. These were not retaliatory strikes against continuing aggression by India. In this regard, Pakistan has hit non-military targets, avoiding casualties and collateral damage. The only reason was to demonstrate our right, desire and readiness for self-defense, ”the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.
Sergey Balmasov, an expert at the Middle East Institute, believes that the probability of nuclear strikes is not great. And although the Government of Pakistan does not intend to take positions, it will not be able to bring matters to full-scale actions either.
“In reality, the Pakistani leadership is not interested in the war with India. But there may be a serious interest on the part of the United States. Now we need to monitor the reaction, further developments will depend on a number of factors. The option of limited conflict with the use of artillery, combat aircraft in certain areas of the front is not excluded, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.
Balmasov also noted that the ruling circles of Islamabad have their own “hawks” who insist on a forceful solution of the issue with India. But at the same time, they understand that they will not be able to achieve a one-time defeat of the Indian forces. In direct confrontation, Pakistan will only lose, only individual attacks can succeed.
- Pakistani F-16 fighters
- Reuters
- © Faisal Mahmood
Pulvam terrorist attack
The events of the environment should first of all be viewed in the context of the events of the last two weeks, I believe the candidate of historical sciences, a researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences. EAT. Primakov Alexey Kupriyanov. He recalled that on February 14 a suicide bomber in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir sent a car filled with explosives into an Indian army convoy, killing 45 soldiers killed in the blast.
“According to the results, the organization“ Jaish-e-Mohammed ”(“ The Army of the Prophet Mohammed ”. - RT ), which is based in Pakistan, assumed responsibility. The Indians blamed the Pakistani leadership for encouraging and directing terrorist activities. The Pakistanis have rejected these accusations, stating that it is not them, that they themselves are fighting terrorists and themselves bear losses from terrorists, ”the expert explained.
After that, the Indian Air Force attacked the camps of alleged terrorists in Balakot, Muzafarabad and Chakotiv in the border area separating India and Pakistan in disputed Kashmir.
“An operation has been undertaken. Indians deny that this was a retaliatory operation and claim that they had intelligence that Pakistani-sponsored militants are preparing to strike a new blow at their territory, ”Kupriyanov said.
According to him, the Pakistanis assured that they had no casualties, and the Indians reported that they had managed to bomb a large camp in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and that hundreds of militants were killed. So, according to the expert, the aggravation began, which resulted in today's air attacks. But the more aggressive actions of the side will not be solved.
“There will be no large combined arms operations, invasions and use of nuclear weapons in the near future,” the expert concluded.