A day after Indian and Pakistani fighter jets were engaged in aerial combat, Ministry of Defence officials on Thursday said airspace intrusion by Pakistan jets was an attempt to attack military installations.

Pakistani F-16 fighter jets on Wednesday violated Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri sector and dropped bombs at four places near Army installations, but missed all the targets. They were immediately pushed back by Indian jets on air patrol.

Speaking on the IAF fighter pilot captured by Pakistan, the MoD officials said he was ill-treated by the Pakistan Army in violation of the Geneva Convention.

India lost a MiG 21 Bison aircraft which intercepted Pakistani fighter jets who entered Indian territory, the government had said.

“One Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by Indian Air Force. In this engagement, we have lost one MiG 21. Pilot is missing in action. Pakistan claims he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had said.

India had strongly objected to Pakistan’s “vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force” in violation of all norms of the International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention.

It was made clear to the Pakistani side that Islamabad would be well advised to ensure that no harm came to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expected his immediate and safe return.

In a video, that was doing rounds in Pakistani media, a blindfolded man dressed in flying overalls was being questioned by the security officials. The pilot was seen identifying himself as Wing Commander Abhinandan of the IAF. He gives out his service number and refuses to answer further questions.

The Defence officials further said that the Pakistan Army was actively supporting the Jaish-e-Mohammed and was harbouring leaders including Masood Azhar in its facilities.

India has time and again maintained that Pakistan army’s intelligence agency ISI has been supporting terror groups on its soil, adding that the “JeM was a child of Pakistan Army”.

Meanwhile, multiple IAF sources have confirmed the wreckage of an aircraft found in Pakistan territory in Lam valley of Nowshera sector as that of an F-16 fighter jet that was shot down in Indian retaliatory firing after it violated the Indian airspace.

The same picture was being circulated on social media claiming this is an Indian MiG fighter.

Pakistan had claimed that it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani airspace, of which, one fell on the Pakistani side of the LoC.

Pakistan had claimed the “strikes across Line of Control from within Pak airspace” and that its “purpose was to demonstrate the right to self-defence”.