Pakistan's Foreign Office has said that the awarding of the award to Abhinandan, the wing commander of the Indian government, is a perfect example of fabricated stories aimed at concealing its embarrassment in public.
A statement issued by the Foreign Office on Tuesday said, "We reject India's baseless claim that an Indian pilot was arrested in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in February 2019. The F-16 was shot down.
It may be recalled that the Indian government has awarded the 'Veer Chakra' award to Air Force pilot Abhinandan Worthman, who was arrested and released by the Pakistan Army.The 'Veer Chakra' award is given to those who have shown bravery in wars and it is considered as the third highest honor in India after 'Param Veer Chakra' and 'Maha Veer Chakra'.
"International experts and US officials have confirmed that no Pakistani F-16s were shot down that day," the State Department said in a statement.
"It is ridiculous and meaningless for India to insist on promoting a lie that has been completely exposed."
The statement said that awarding military honors for fictitious achievements of bravery is contrary to all military values.
On February 27, 2019, the Pakistan Air Force shot down two Indian planes in broad daylight, one of which was an Indian MiG-21 Bison, crashed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The pilot who jumped out of the plane was arrested by Pakistan and later released in a goodwill gesture.According to the statement, "The second Indian aircraft to be shot down by the Pakistan Air Force, the SU-30, had landed on the other side of the Line of Control." On the same day, in the chaos, the Indian Army shot down its own MI-17 helicopter near Srinagar, which was initially denied by India but was later admitted. The Indian Air Force was completely defeated that day.
The Foreign Office further said that in the eyes of the international community, this fabricated story of India has no credibility, while Pakistan is determined and ready to thwart all the war intentions of India in the form of February 2019.
It may be recalled that India had on February 26 claimed to have targeted a hideout of the banned Jaish-e-Muhammad in the Balakot area of Pakistan and in response, Pakistan had shot down Abhinandan's plane in its airspace.
Abhinandan was able to parachute out of the plane after the accident and was arrested in Pakistan. However, Pakistan released Abhinandan on March 1, 2019 in the spirit of peace in the regionAbhinandan Worthman has recently been promoted from Wing Commander to Group Captain and this promotion has also been given to him as a reward for shooting down Pakistani F-16 aircraft.
About a month after India's claim to have shot down a Pakistani F-16 came to light, the American magazine Foreign Policy, after talking to two US defense officials in a news item, revealed that US officials were using Pakistani F-16s at the time. The number of planes was counted and contrary to Indian claims, their number was complete and no plane was missing.
