ISLAMABAD: With the passage of time more and more details about India’s alleged strike in Balakot on Jaish-e-Mohammad camp and the consequent standoff between Pakistan and India are coming up, leading to crumbling of the Indian narrative.
The international media is reporting on a daily basis about the standoff between Pakistan and India and the clash between the air forces of the two countries.
International media outlets and journalists are bringing forth may glaring loopholes in the Indian narrative. New Delhi’s narrative has almost collapsed and failed to withstand the scrutiny of neutral and independent foreign media.
Some reported-out points on the India – Pakistan skirmish, from both my US sources and my colleagues in DC:
1) US says if Pakistan used an F16 to shoot down an Indian MiG, it may not have violated sale agreement. India says deal limits Pak to use jets ONLY for counterterror ops— Maria Abi-Habib (@Abihabib) March 6, 2019
New York Times journalist Maria Abi-Habib on Wednesday revealed that, contrary to India’s insistence, Pakistan may not have necessarily violated its F-16 sales agreement with the US even if it may have used the American-made fighter jets to shoot down Indian aircraft last week.
On Feb 27, Pakistan Air Force had flown into occupied Kashmir to demonstrate its capability to respond to Indian aggression, locked on to military targets, and then spared them. It had later shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace when they tried to give chase to Pakistani jets.
2) US officials are pushing back hard on India’s interpretation of their F16 sale agreement w/Pakistan. They say if India entered Pak airspace for a 2nd day, and Pak used the jet defensively, the contract wasn’t violated
3) But, if Pak used F16 to attack India 1st, deal violated— Maria Abi-Habib (@Abihabib) March 6, 2019
Indian officials, while admitting that Pakistani jets had engaged Indian military targets, had complained that the aircraft used by the PAF to ingress into occupied Kashmir had included an F-16. The Indian Air Force (IAF) had also claimed that it shot down the said F-16, and paraded the remains of an AIM-120 missile in an attempt to substantiate its claim.
New Delhi had insisted that Pakistan’s use of F-16 against India meant that Islamabad stood in violation of a sales agreement with the US, which reportedly restricts the fighter jets to be used for anti-terrorism activities alone.
4) So this all comes down to: what really happened last week — is Pakistan’s version to be believed or India’s ? American officials at this moment say they are assessing if an F16 was used and in what manner
5) Pak says they didn’t use F16, but JF17, a jet they produce w/China— Maria Abi-Habib (@Abihabib) March 6, 2019
However, Abi-Habib, the NYT’s South Asia correspondent, in a series of tweets explained how Pakistan may not have committed a violation of its sales agreement with the US even if it did use F-16s to shoot down Indian jets (which the PAF nonetheless says never happened).
6) If true, surprising as the JF17s aren’t considered to be v good
7) No one saying F16s better than MiGs. They are both old news. US wants to strengthen its alliance w/India & as a sweetener said theyd produce F16 in India. Delhi said: give us your better, newer stuff— Maria Abi-Habib (@Abihabib) March 6, 2019
“The US says if Pakistan used an F-16 to shoot down an Indian MiG, it may not have violated sale agreement,” she tweeted.
“They say if India entered Pakistani airspace for a second day, and Pakistan used the jet defensively, the contract wasn’t violated. But, if Pakistan used an F-16 to attack India first, then deal was violated.”
8) Weapons experts/ officials say the fragmented casings of AIM-120 India showed don’t really prove whether F16 was shot down. US says they’re still assessing, but dont know if F16 was/wasnt downed. Dont shoot the messenger folks, this is what officials say as they investigate
— Maria Abi-Habib (@Abihabib) March 6, 2019
Citing weapons experts and officials, Abi-Habib also put a question mark on Indian Air Force’s claim that the AIM-120 missile’s remnant that was displayed by New Delhi was ‘proof’ of Pakistan’s use of an F-16 in the counter-strike to the Balakot incident.
9) Either way, the West, particularly US, is really trying to bolster its alliance w/ India. They are tired of Pakistan & say they use terror groups to achieve foreign objectives. So for the US to be cautious re: India’s version of events at this moment is very interesting /end
— Maria Abi-Habib (@Abihabib) March 6, 2019
She also said US officials still do not have sufficient reason to believe that an F-16 was shot down by India, as claimed by IAF.
Abi-Habib noted that “the West, particularly US, is really trying to bolster its alliance with India”. She said that the strengthening of its alliance with New Delhi is so important for Washington that it even offered to produce F-16 jets in India “as a sweetener”.
For the US to be cautious with Indian version of last week’s events, despite its newfound fondness of India, “is very interesting”, she added.
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