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South China Morning Post

Indian military official blames politics for downed fighter jets in Pakistan conflict

India 's political leadership did not permit strikes on Pakistani military bases at the start of hostilities between the two countries in May, allowing Islamabad to shoot down its fighter jets, according to a military official. Advertisement 'I do agree we did lose some aircraft. That happened only because of the constraints given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defence,' India's military attache to Indonesia, Shiv Kumar, said at a seminar on the India-Pakistan conflict at the Universitas Dirgantara Marsekal Suryadarma in Jakarta on June 10. The worst clash between the nuclear-armed neighbours in half a century erupted on May 7, with both sides trading air, drone and missile strikes, as well as artillery and small-arms fire along their shared border. It was triggered by an attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22 that killed 26 civilians in what India called an act of terrorism orchestrated by Pakistan . Islamabad has denied involvement. 03:12 India launches strikes on Pakistan, Islamabad vows to 'settle the score' India launches strikes on Pakistan, Islamabad vows to 'settle the score' Kumar's comments are the most direct explanation so far from an Indian official on why the country lost fighter jets during the conflict with Pakistan. The assertion from a military official that a political directive at the start of the conflict could be responsible for the downing of the planes may embolden India's opposition, which is scrutinising Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's government over the hostilities. India's Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of External Affairs did not respond to emails seeking comments sent after office hours. India's embassy in Indonesia said in a social media post that Kumar's comments at the seminar were 'quoted out of context' and that he had wanted to convey that the 'Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership'. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses armed forces personnel during a visit to an airbase in India's Punjab state last month. Photo: Indian Press Information Bureau / AFP In an interview last month, Anil Chauhan, chief of defence staff of the armed forces, accepted that India lost an unspecified number of fighter aircraft but blamed the downing of the jets on tactical mistakes which were rectified.