Down From Three To Two To One: Pakistan Now Accepts It Has Only One IAF Pilot In Its Custody

Making a u-turn, the propaganda wing of the Pakistan armed forces, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), has confirmed on Twitter that it has only one Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilot in its custody.

This comes just hours after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his address to the nation, had claimed that his forces have captured Indian “pilots”, hinting that Rawalpindi had more than one pilot in its custody.

Moreover, the head of ISPR, Major General Asif Ghafoor of the Pakistan Army, in his media briefing earlier today, had captured two pilots of the IAF, adding that one of them was in a hospital and the other in captivity.

Hours before his briefing, Ghafoor had claimed on Twitter that the Pakistani forces had captured one IAF pilot and two were “in the area”.

The External Affairs Ministry of India has also confirmed that a MiG-21 fighter of the IAF was downed by the Pakistan Air Force and the pilot of the jet is missing. It had added that a fighter jet of the PAF was shot down by an IAF fighter.

Unconfirmed videos on social media show that the fighter pilot in Rawalpindi’s custody, identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was beaten up by locals in presence of Pakistani troops.