A recent statement made by India’s Defence Attaché in Indonesia, Captain Shiv Kumar (Navy), at a seminar has sparked controversy. He claimed that the Indian Air Force “lost several fighter jets” in the initial phase of ‘Operation Sindoor’ because the political leadership had ordered not to attack Pakistan’s military installations and only to target terrorist hideouts. So is it true that we lost planes in Operation Sindoor? At a seminar in Jakarta on June 10, Captain Kumar had said, “We suffered losses only because the political leadership had told us not to target Pakistan’s military installations or air defences.” He also said that after the initial losses, Indian forces changed strategy and carried out successful strikes with Brahmos missiles, destroying the enemy’s air defences. Then the government clarified As soon as this statement came out, a controversy arose and the Congress started attacking the government. However, seeing the controversy growing, the Indian Embassy (Jakarta) clarified that Captain Kumar’s words were “taken out of context” and “misrepresented in the media.” They tried to convey that the Indian Army works under political leadership, which reflects India’s democratic tradition. India’s action was not provocative… The statement also said that the aim of Operation Sindoor was to target terrorist hideouts and the action taken by India was not provocative. It is worth noting that a Defence Attaché is a senior Indian military officer posted in a country’s embassy and represents the Indian mission of his country there. Congress’s aggressive stance The Congress party termed the comment as a failure of the Modi government and questioned why the Prime Minister was not calling an all-party meeting on the issue. Party spokesperson Pawan Khera said, “This comment directly determines the responsibility of the government.” He accused Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the entire government of compromising national security. Khera referred to earlier statements by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, who had admitted losses in the initial phase of Operation Sindoor but did not give the numbers. Last month, General Chauhan had said in Singapore that India had changed its strategy after losing the aircraft. He, however, termed Pakistan’s claim of shooting down six Indian jets as “completely false”.
Download Our App:
