Pakistan says it has shot down Indian jets after Kashmir cross-border attack

[David48atTD]

Photograph: PAKISTAN AIR FORCE/HANDOUT/EPA

Pakistan has conducted airstrikes over the ceasefire line in disputed Kashmir and claims to have shot down two Indian jets that responded by entering Pakistani airspace, capturing one of the pilots.

The incursions, a day after India flew sorties into Pakistan for the first time in nearly 50 years, are the latest escalations in the most serious military crisis in south Asia since the nuclear-armed neighbours fought a brief war in the Himalayas in 1999.

India has yet to respond to Pakistan’s claims.
The Indian news agency ANI reported on Wednesday that a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet was also shot down on Pakistan’s of the ceasefire line dividing the two armies in Kashmir.

Pakistan has suspended domestic air travel in Lahore, Islamabad and other cities. At least one private Indian airliner, Vistara, said airspace across north India had been closed and flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu have been put on hold.


The Guardian

[Neverna]

Pakistan shoots down two Indian Air Force jets amid escalating tensions


Pakistan today said it shot down two Indian jets and captured pilots as rising tensions threatened to ignite a new military conflict between the rival nuclear powers.

Islamabad said the Indian Air Force planes had crossed the boundary between the two nations in the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Two pilots from one of the planes were said to have been captured. One bloodied airman was seen on video being arrested by Pakistani troops in a clip shared on social media.

Pakistan’s civil aviation authority subsequently shut its airspace to all commercial flights.

Today’s developments came a day after India launched a pre-dawn air strike on what it claimed was a terrorist training camp in Balakot, in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

The incident, the first of its kind since the two neighbours went to war in 1971, was intended to prevent further attacks after a suicide bombing in Kashmir killed at least 40 paramilitaries two weeks ago. It prompted Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, to convene a meeting of his nuclear command.

Following the downing of the two Indian jets, Pakistan military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said both pilots were in custody but one was being held in a military hospital.

One of the planes crashed in Pakistan’s part of Kashmir while the other went down in the India-controlled section of the region, Mr Ghafoor said. Firefighters were seen at a crash site in the Budgam area, some 18 miles from Srinagar. Witnesses said soldiers fired into the air to keep locals away.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the planes had been shot down “with clear warning and in broad daylight”. The country’s president, Arif Alvi, warned “brinkmanship can lead to war”, adding: “We know how to defend ourselves.”

There was no immediate comment from India’s government or military.



https://www.standard.co.uk/news/worl...-a4077481.html

[harrybarracuda]

I hope these fucking idiots don't start lobbing nukes around.

[Looper]

Looks like a Mig-21 Fishbed

That is a real cold war classic.

[Neverna]

Looks like a Mig-21 Fishbed

That is a real cold war classic.

Yes, the BBC have reported that kind of plane.

"India says it lost one MiG21 fighter and a pilot was missing in action."

[aging one]

One very unhappy Sikh.... Looks like he was shot down...

[Texpat]

Wing Commander Abhi Nandan^

[jabir]

I'm sure the Pakis will treat their captives well, in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

[taxexile]

it aint half hot mum.

ragheads versus bobbleheads, this should be fun.

[foobar]

[Looper]

^
^^
Bit more fun and frolicsome than the DMZ sunglasses stand-offs.

They'll have sombody's eye with them high kicks if they're not careful.

The dark colours on the stanis work for me better than the light kakhis on the indans. Adds a bit of tension and drama.

[Texpat]

I spent two months in Agra working with the IAF (airlift, not fighters) and they don't hold back voicing their hatred for the Pakis.

[harrybarracuda]

Silly tiny dick Jeff wants nuclear war.



Another one of his futile reds:

"Let's hope so - towards the real evil in the world. Your beloved Anglo-American circles......oh yeah!!"

[harrybarracuda]

I spent two months in Agra working with the IAF (airlift, not fighters) and they don't hold back voicing their hatred for the Pakis.

It's getting serious. They are talking about cancelling a cricket match.

[Texpat]

https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/

China gets the dirt given current winds.

[lom]

China gets the dirt.

How did you come to that result? It ought to be very dependent on wind direction and speed when the bomb goes off.

[Texpat]

That simulation is the worlds biggest known nuke, so an actual bomb would likely be much smaller. Even if the wind pushed fallout SE toward Thailand, people in Chiang Mai wouldn't notice anything anyway.

[foobar]

Thai Airways cancels all flights to Europe due to India and Pakistan tensions

[misskit]

THAI temporarily cancels flights to Europe after Pakistan closes airspace

Thai Airways International on Wednesday announced the cancellation of all flights to and from Pakistan and Europe after Pakistan closed its airspace amid rising tensions with India.

The flights cancelled on Wednesday night were TG341 and TG342 on the Bangkok-Karachi-Bangkok route, the TG345 and TG 346 Bangkok-Lahore-Bangkok flights and TG349 and TG350 Bangkok-Islamabad-Bangkok flights.


THAI also cancelled fights to Europe that fly over Pakistan airspace, namely Bangkok-London (TG916), Bangkok-Moscow (TG974) and Bangkok-Phuket-Frankfurt (TG926).

MORE THAI temporarily cancels flights to Europe after Pakistan closes airspace

[foobar]

Some gasoline...

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-...eaten-14060130

[David48atTD]

What is important to this story of the background of why?

---

15 Feb 2019

India warns of 'crushing response' to Kashmir suicide attack as violent protests broke out in India




India's prime minister has warned of a "crushing response" to the suicide bombing of a paramilitary convoy in Indian-controlled Kashmir, an attack that killed 44 and is now the deadliest in the divided region's volatile history.

Key points:

• The US singled out Pakistan in its statement condemning the attack
• Outrage and demands for revenge flooded Indian social media
• Some people were reported injured in mob attacks

Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed the blame for Thursday's bombing squarely on neighbouring Pakistan, which India accuses of supporting rebels in Kashmir.
"Our neighbouring country thinks such terror attacks can weaken us, but their plans will not materialize," he said, adding that government forces have been "given total freedom" to deal with the militants.

The attack is ratcheting up already hostile tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours, who both administer parts of the disputed territory but each claim it entirely.

---

I'm not saying for a second that India is justified in the apart retaliation act, just an interesting background and justification for some.

How the newly elected Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Indian Prime Minister who is coming up for re-election will be key.

Early reports are that Prime Minister Imran Khan is playing down the action.

[David48atTD]

THAI temporarily cancels flights to Europe after Pakistan closes airspace

It appears that someone forgot to tell the pilot of this BKK flight to Oslo

[Texpat]

When the goods absolutely, positively must arrive overnight.

[Neverna]

It appears that someone forgot to tell the pilot of this BKK flight to Oslo

Perhaps the pilot nodded off for a few minutes.

[harrybarracuda]

Hopefully that will calm things down a bit.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan will release a captured Indian pilot on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan told a joint session of Parliament on Thursday, in an overture towards New Delhi after soaring tensions fueled fears of conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals.

“As a peace gesture we are releasing the Indian pilot tomorrow,” Khan said, a day after Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was shot down in a rare aerial engagement between the South Asian neighbors over the disputed region of Kashmir.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20.../#.XHf3mYgzZPY