Amid the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan after the terror attack in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir which left 40 CRPF jawans dead, the Defence Ministry of India officials, on Thursday, issued a statement.
The officials said that Pakistan's claims that its air force did not target the Indian military installations during Wednesday's air intrusion were false.
They said that the Pakistani jets clearly targeted multiple military installations in Naushera and Rajaouri sector, but their attempts were foiled by the combat patrol team of the Indian Air Force.
Sources said that the alertness of the armed forces remained at the highest level.
The defense ministry official said, "We believe that the Pakistan air intrusion was an attack on military installations. We believe that the Indian Air Force Pilot was ill-treated by the Pakistan Army in violation of the Geneva convention."
The official further said, "We believe that the Pakistan Army is actively supporting the Jaish-e-Mohammed and is harbouring the leaders including Masood Azhar in its facilities."
After the terror attack by terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), backed by Pakistan, Indian Air Force, on Wednesday, conducted an air strike JeM terror camps inside Pakistan.
The airstrike was carried out on a terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Following this, the tension between the two nuclear neighboring countries has escalated.
This result in air combat between the two armed forces of the two countries.
The aerial engagement between India and Pakistan for the first time since the 1971 war marked a dramatic escalation of confrontation prompting world leaders to urge the two neighbouring countries to exercise "utmost restraint".
India said it shot down an F-16 warplane of Pakistan while it lost a MiG 21 during the fierce engagement between the air forces of the two countries along the Line of Control.
During the chase, Indian Air Force (IAF) lost one of the Indian MIG 21 jets and an IAF pilot went missing in action.
He has been captured by the Pakistan Army.
Meanwhile, a joint press briefing by Army, Air Force, and Navy has been scheduled in New Delhi at 5 pm on Thursday.
(With inputs from PTI)
