An Indian naval officer has conceded that the country lost fighter jets to Pakistani fire during their conflict in May and says the losses were a result of “constraints” placed on Indian forces by the government in New Delhi.Captain Shiv Kumar, defence attache at the Indian embassy in Jakarta, made the comments at a seminar in Indonesia on June 10. The remarks went largely unnoticed at the time until The Wire, an Indian publication, reported on them on Sunday.
Kumar’s claims have sparked a political storm in India, where the opposition Indian National Congress party called them an “indictment” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
So what did Kumar say, how have the Indian government and opposition responded, and what happened between India and Pakistan on May 7?
What happened between India and Pakistan on May 7?
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated into a military confrontation on May 7 when India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting nine sites in six cities in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir with multiple missile attacks.
India said it hit “terrorist infrastructure” in response to the killings of tourists on April 22 in Pahalgam in India-administered Kashmir. Pakistan, on the other hand, said dozens of civilians were killed in the missile attacks along with several military personnel.
Islamabad said it downed six Indian jets in retaliation, including at least three Rafale fighters. Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said all the planes were downed inside India …
