Air Marshal Waqas Ahmed Sulehri said on Wednesday that international experts have already confirmed that no Pakistani F-16 was shot down in 2019 aerial dogfight. In a talkshow with Arhsad Shairf on ARY News, he rubbihed baseless Indian claims that a Pakistani F-16 aircraft was shot down by an Indian pilot, Abhinandan Varthamanm for which he is awarded.
Speaking exclusively during ARY News program powerplay with Arhshad Sharif, Air Marshal Waqas Ahmed Sulehri said that Indian pilot Abhinandan was awarded ‘Vir Chakra’ for peddling lies.
“The PAF had shown wreckage of Abhinandan’s Mig-21 which had all its missiles intact,” he said while reacting to Abhinandan’s Vir Chakra award”.
The gallantry award conferred in India on Tuesday in which Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan in 2019 after his MiG 21 Bison aircraft was shot down by a Pakistan army and later returned to India as a gesture of peace.
In a statement issued a day after Abhinandan was given the Vir Chakra medal by Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, the Foreign Office said that awarding Abhinandan was done to “hide India’s embarrassment.”
Vir Chakra is India’s third-highest wartime gallantry award after Param Vir Chakra and Maha Chakra
According to a report issued by The Indian Express, Abhinandan, who was recently promoted from wing commander to group captain, was awarded the medal for “showing conspicuous courage” while shooting down a Pakistani F-16 aircraft in February 2019, a claim that has been rebutted by the Pakistan military, independent observers as well as the international media multiple times.
Air Marshal Sulehri said, “the citation of the award to the downed Indian pilot is a classic case of Indian fabrications to appease domestic audience and hide the embarrassment.”
Sulehri also added that Indian claims were also debunked by Foreign Policy “the Global Magazine”. He said that the report exposed India’s false claims with the help of thorough research and technical explanation.
He further declared that three Indian jets were shot down during 2019 aerial dogfight.
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