IAF shot down Pakistani F-16 3 km within Pakistan territory in Lam Valley; located near Nowshera, site is close to Line of Control

Top officials on Wednesday said one Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 jet that violated Indian air space in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district was shot down in retaliatory firing, three kilometres within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, along the Line of Control. [caption id=“attachment_1157923” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image[/caption] The jets were immediately pushed back by Indian aircraft on air patrol, a top official has said . Police sources have also said that Pakistani jets dropped bombs on their way out at Nadian, Lam Jhangar, and Kerri in Rajouri district and Hamirpur area of Bhimber Galli in Poonch of the Indian territory. A parachute was spotted going down across the Line of Control but the condition of the PAF pilot is not known. This action comes a day after the Indian Air Force carried out air strikes in the wee hours of Tuesday morning on Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps in Balakot, Muzaffarabad and Chakoti. Pakistan military, in the meanwhile, has claimed to have arrested an Indian pilot after shooting down two IAF aircraft. Major General Asif Ghafoor, the head of the media wing of Pakistan’s military, claimed in a tweet that one of the aircraft fell in Jammu and Kashmir, while the other fell in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He also claimed that the Indian Air Force had crossed the Line of Control once again on Wednesday morning. The Indian jets are still patrolling the area.

Pakistan Air Force's F-16 that violated Indian air space shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector. pic.twitter.com/8emKMVpWKi

— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019

Where is Nowshera and Lam valley? Soon as reports about the Pakistani fighter jet spread, there were confusions about where exactly was Nowshera and Lam valley. Nowshera, where the air space violation took place, is in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, about 10 kilometre North of Srinagar’s Lal Chowk. It lies close to the LoC. This shouldn’t be confused with Nowshera, the primary city in Nowshera district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Lam Valley, on the other hand, lies in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). Places near Lam Valley include Jhangar, Nadian, Kerri, Mendhar,  Bhimber Galli in Poonch and other places. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the Pakistani warplane was shot down by the Indian Air Force after it attempted to target military establishments in Jammu and Kashmir. It was earlier reported that three Pakistani Air Force jets attempted to violate the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were chased away by Indian combat air patrol team of Sukhoi SU-30s. The Pakistan government later claimed in a statement that its air force undertook strikes on the Indian side of the Line of Control “from within Pakistani airspace” and for “self-defence”. It denied that the F-16 was shot down.