This attack comes a day after India struck militants in Pakistan
Pakistan claims to have shot down two Indian fighter jets, in a huge escalation of the Kashmir conflict, which stretches back decades to before the two nations achieved independence.
The partition plan provided by the Indian Independence Act left ambiguity around which nation the region belonged to, leading to a conflict over the land. Since 1947, the two countries have fought three wars and endured a ‘limited conflict’, all but one of which were over the region of Kashmir.
A Pakistani army spokesman said one of the planes had fallen inside Pakistan and a pilot had been arrested.
There has not yet been any confirmation from India, which claimed to have shot down a Pakistani aircraft.
Pakistan is claiming to have hit Indian targets, just a day after Pakistani militants were struck by India.
In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area.
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) February 27, 2019
This raid comes shortly after an attack in Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops.
Four Pakistani civilians were also killed while 10 others suffered injuries in cross-border shelling on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday morning that Pakistani jets had launched air strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Pakistani- and Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Pakistan said it had “taken strikes at [a] non-military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage.”
These aerial attacks across the Line of Control are the first since the 1971 war between the two countries.
Both countries stake claims to Kashmir, which has a muslim majority, but each country only owns part of the region.
Pakistan's civil aviation authority says it has shut its airspace to all commercial flights as tensions with India escalate
— Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) February 27, 2019
