She further said that if none of the US-manufactured fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) were missing then how come the part of AM-RAAM missile, which is used in F-16 was found in India.
Baseless, source-based': Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman brushes off US magazine report on F-16
India
Updated Apr 07, 2019 | 08:02 IST | Times Now Digital
She said that if none of the US-manufactured fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) were missing then how come the part of AM-RAAM missile, which is used in F-16 was found in India.
Nirmala Sitharaman rejects US magazine report on F-16 | Photo Credit: ANI
New Delhi: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman has rejected as “baseless” the US magazine report that claimed that none of Pakistan’s F-16s were missing and said that the article was “source-based”.
She further said that if none of the US-manufactured fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) were missing then how come the part of AM-RAAM missile, which is used in F-16 was found in India.
Washington-based magazine Foreign Police reported on Thursday that the US defence personnel recently conducted a physical count of Pakistan’s F-16s and found all intact and none missing. The article also quoted unidentified defence officials as saying that America has not found any planes, supplied to Pakistan, missing from the inventory.
However, the US defence department, reportedly said that it was not aware that an investigation was conducted to find out whether Pakistan’s F-16 was shot down by Indian Air Force’s (IAF) fighter jet in February.
“The IAF gave proof on it with the electronic signature of F-16. Whoever has written it, it's baseless and source based. The part of AM-RAAM missile, which is used only with F-16, how was it found in India?,” Sitharaman was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
India maintains that Pakistan’s F-16 was shot down by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was flying a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in a dogfight on February 27.
Reacting to the Foreign Policy report, Pakistan's Prime Minister said that Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) attempt to win elections through whipping up war hysteria and false claims of downing a Pakistan F 16 has backfired.
"The truth always prevails and is always the best policy. BJP's attempt to win elections through whipping up war hysteria and false claims of downing a Pak F 16 has backfired with US Defence officials also confirming that no F16 was missing from Pakistan's fleet," he had said in a tweet on Saturday