2019 India–Pakistan border skirmishes | Haider Sherazi | 27 February

Pakistan shoots down two Indian fighter jets: Military Pakistan military claims that they shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace and captured two pilots. Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan shot down two Indian air force fighter jets and launched air strikes at six targets in Indian-administered Kashmir, its military says, in a dramatic ratcheting up of tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. The Indian air force jets were shot down over Pakistani airspace in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Wednesday, a day after Indian aircraft launched air raids on Pakistani territory, Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said. Two Indian air force pilots were taken into custody, Ghafoor said, with one of them being treated for wounds at a military hospital. India’s foreign ministry spokesperson has confirmed that one of their pilots is missing and that they are “ascertaining the facts”. “In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one Mig-21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody,” Raveesh Kumar told a briefing. Kumar also announced that a Pakistan jet was hit as it took part in an operation “to target military installations on the Indian side”. “The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called on Wednesday for talks with India and hoped “better sense” would prevail so that both sides could de-escalate. “History tells us that wars are full of miscalculation. My question is that given the weapons we have can we afford miscalculation,” Khan said during a brief televised broadcast to the nation. “We should sit down and talk.” Separately, Ghafoor said that Pakistani aircraft had fired on six targets in Indian-administered Kashmir, hitting “open spaces” as a demonstration of Pakistan’s capability to hit Indian targets. The intention, the military spokesperson said, was not to cause any civilian or military casualties. “[The] sole purpose was to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self-defence,” read a Pakistani foreign office statement released shortly after the attacks. “We have no intention of escalation but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm.” Speaking to reporters at military headquarters in Rawalpindi, Ghafoor said Pakistan did not wish to escalate hostilities and urged India to engage in dialogue. “This was not a retaliation in a true sense, but to tell Pakistan has capability; we can do it, but we want to be responsible, we don’t want an escalation, we don’t want a war,” he told a news