Pakistan Declare War Shot Down 2 Indian Aircraft

Pakistan has shut down all of its airports and airspace after the Indian Air Force (IAF) shot one F-16 in the Pakistani airspace that had violated the Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan had immediately stopped its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports.

International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace have been affected, ANI quoted sources as saying.

Earlier in the day, top Jammu and Kashmir Police sources said three PAF F-16 fighter jets violated Indian airspace in Nowshera sector, but were pushed back by the Indian side.

"The jets entered into the Indian air space over Nowshera sector of Rajouri district this morning," a police official said, adding that the Indian fighter jets on air patrol immediately scrambled and pushed them back beyond the LoC.

While fleeing the Indian airspace, the Pakistan jets also dropped payload in the Indian territory. One of the three Pakistani jets, that crossed the Line of Control, was taken down by the Indian Air Force, top officials said.

The Pakistani authorities claimed that two Indian fighter jets crashed on Wednesday, one in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district and the other across the Line of Control (LoC), whose pilot has been captured alive.

In a tweet, the Pakistani military spokesperson, Asif Ghafoor, said, "In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), IAF crossed LoC. PAF shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K (Pakistan administered Kashmir)... One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground."