According to Pakistan Today, “a woman and her younger brother were killed and two others injured as Indian troops resorted to heavy shelling from across the LoC… Indian shelling began at 6am in the Abbaspur sector of Poonch district and remained “intense and indiscriminate” until 9am… at least three houses have been damaged completely while 43 houses and two educational institutions were damaged partially by Indian shelling.”
After civilians death “by Indian firing along the LoC on Monday, the Pakistan Army destroyed two Indian posts… Pakistan Army claimed to have killed three Indian soldiers and injured five others in “retaliatory firing” across the Line of Control (LoC) after unprovoked Indian shelling claimed the lives of two Pakistani civilians in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Wednesday.”, reported Pakistan Today.
Earlier, PTI reported that “ Pakistani unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was on Tuesday shot down near the International Border in Kutch district of Gujarat”, quoting a police official, on condition of anonymity.
PTI reported this morning that “The entire airspace north of the Indian capital has been vacated".
The skies above New Delhi were vacated as nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were closed for civilian air traffic on a day of rapidly escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.”
“India said Pakistan jets intruded into Indian air space in the Rajouri and Poonch sectors.” reported PTI.
Al Jazira reported Pakistan saying “it carried out six air raids in Indian-administered Kashmir and shot down two Indian jets in its own airspace... This was not a retaliation in true sense, but to tell Pakistan has capability, we can do it, but we want to be responsible”.
“One of the aircraft fell inside Indian-administered Kashmir, while the second came down in Pakistani territory” reported Al Jazira quoting Major General Asif Ghafoor.
At the briefing, Ghafoor produced weapons and identity documents he alleged were carried by the Indian pilots.
APP report differed with that of Al Jazira’s quoting Ghafoor, “two Indian Air Force planes intruded into our territory across Line of Control (LoC). The Pakistan Air Force was on alert, it took on those jets, there had been an engagement and resultantly both the Indian planes were shot down and wreckage of one plane fell on our side and of the other on Indian side,”
“Two Indian pilots have been arrested among whom one was injured. Upholding the norms of a responsible and civilized country, we have got him admitted to Combined Military Hospital where he is being extended proper medical treatment,” he explained.
Police officials in Indian-administered Kashmir, on the other hand, said that two pilots and a civilian had died after an Indian air force plane crashed in Kashmir, but did not confirm if the plane had been shot down by Pakistani forces.
According to The Indian Express, “MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar confirmed there was an air to air engagement between the Indian and Pakistani air forces early Wednesday morning.”
“The Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force.”
“The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on Pak side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts,” added the spokesperson.
The MEA spokesperson did not take any question from the media.
Indian Express also reported about IAF Mi-17 helicopter crash in J&K’s Budgam in which “At least one civilian and six Indian Air Force personnel were killed”. One of the deceased has been identified as Kifayat Hussain Ganaie, a local resident, while the identity of the remaining are being ascertained”. Earlier, officials in Srinagar had described the downed aircraft as a jet.
The Indian Express, in a separate report, quoted an official from the Airport Authority of India saying that suspended flight operations at seven airports has resumed.
PTI also reported that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday called a meeting with National Command Authority (NCA), a top decision making body for operational command and control of the country's nuclear arsenals, to discuss the situation after the Indian attack.
In a separate statement, Pakistan's foreign ministry said "If India is striking at so called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan,"
The Hindu reported that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has called on India to come to the dialogue table and discuss any concerns it has around Pulwama. He also promises to investigate any involvement of Pakistanis in the Pulwama attack, reiterating the offer he made after the Pulwama attack.
“I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi’s.”, so “Let’s sit together and settle this with talks,” said Khan.
Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj too said that her country does not want "further escalation" with Pakistan. Swaraj said that Indian military action was based on "credible information" that militants were planning other attacks in various parts of the country.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with his counterparts in India and Pakistan and urged both sides to "exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost."
"I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said Wednesday, in the first statement by the US government over the incident.
China, which shares a border with both countries, called on Pakistan and India to "exercise restraint" after news of the airstrikes broke.
