2019 Jammu and Kashmir airstrikes

2019 Kashmir airstrikes
	Part of Indo-Pakistani conflicts; and Kashmir conflict;
	; A Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder
Date	27 February 2019
Location	Jammu and Kashmir, India33°23′N 74°18′E / 33.38°N 74.3°E
Result	Pakistan successfully conducts airstrikes inside Indian territory. Indo-Pak tensions increase; Pakistan shoots down two Indian aircraft; Pakistan captures an Indian pilot as POW; Temporary closure of airspace at some parts of both countries; Heavy exchange of fire at Line of Control;
Belligerents
Pakistan Pakistan Air Force;	India Indian Air Force;
Commanders and leaders
Imran Khan; (Prime Minister); Qamar Javed Bajwa; ((Chief of Army Staff) Mujahid Anwar Khan; (Chief of Air Staff)	Narendra Modi; (Prime Minister); Bipin Rawat; ((Chief of Army Staff) Birender Singh Dhanoa; (Chief of Air Staff)
Strength
3 JF-17 Thunder	1 MiG-21; 1 Mil Mi-17
Casualties and losses
India's claim: 1 F-16 jet shot down Pakistan's claim: None	Pakistan's claim: 1 MiG-21 shot down, 1 pilot captured; 1 Mil Mi-17 shot down, pilot killed India's claim: 1 jet shot down, pilot captured
	class=notpageimage\| Map of Rajouri where one of the airstrikes were carried out 2019 Jammu and Kashmir airstrikes (India)

The 2019 Jammu and Kashmir airstrikes refers to the six surprise airstrikes carried out by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) at multiple locations inside Indian state Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on 27 February 2019. Part of the 2019 India–Pakistan standoff, it was the first time that PAF engaged targets across the Line of Control (LoC) since the 1999 Kargil conflict.^[1]

Background

On 14 February 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora in the Pulwama district, Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The attack resulted in the deaths of 46 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and the attacker. The perpetrator of the attack was from Indian-administered Kashmir.^[2] India blamed Pakistan for the attack resulting in a standoff between two nuclear armed nations. On 26 February 2019, Indian Air Force conducted an airstrike inside Pakistani territory. Pakistan condemned the ceasefire violation of LoC and vowed to retaliate.^[3]

Airstrikes

On 27 February 2019, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Pakistan Air Force conducted six airstrikes at non-military targets in Nadian, Laam Jhangar and Kerri in Rajouri district; and Hamirpur area of Bhimber Galli in Poonch district in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The announcement was followed by a tweet by Director general of the ISPR Maj Gen. Asif Ghafoor revealing that PAF also shot down two Indian aircraft that chased down PAF jets after the airstrikes. One of the aircraft was Mil Mi-17 that crashed in Budgam, J&K and the other Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 crashed in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan whose injured pilot IAF Wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by ground forces of Pakistan Army. However, India claimed that Mil Mi-17 crash in Budgam was due to technical failure.^[4]

Aftermath

Indian reaction

India's Ministry of External Affairs in a press conference confirmed that PAF violated LoC and entered Indian territory through Nowshera and Poonch sector shooting down one IAF jet and it's pilot going missing.^[5] India also claimed to have shot down PAF's F-16 Fighting Falcon in its territory.^[6] A claim which was denied by Pakistan saying no F-16 was used in the operation.^[4]

Pakistan

DG ISPR Asif Ghafoor later conducted a press conference stating: "Since today morning activity has been ongoing at LoC. This morning PAF engaged six targets across LoC from within Pakistani airspace". He also said that the strikes were carried out to just demonstrate Pakistan's aggressive capabilities.^[7]

Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed the nation saying that the sole purpose of our action was to convey that "if you can come into our country, we can do the same". Khan also offered India for peace talks.^[8]

References

^ "Pakistan hits back, shoots down two Indian jets; two pilots arrested". The News International. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
^ India Blames Pakistan for Attack in Kashmir, Promising a Response Archived 23 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine, New York Times. Feb 15, 2019.
^ "On Kashmir attack, Shah Mahmood Qureshi says 'violence is not the govt's policy'". DAWN.COM. 16 February 2019. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b "India Pakistan: Kashmir fighting sees Indian aircraft downed". BBC. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
^ "MEA spokesperson and Air Vice Marshal address media". Mumbai Mirror. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
^ "Pakistani F-16 shot down in J-K's Rajouri sector: Officials". Economic Times. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
^ "Pakistan had no choice but to respond, says DG ISPR". The Nation. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
^ "All wars are miscalculated, no one knows where they lead: PM Khan". DAWN. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.

[tni-1] "Pakistan hits back, shoots down two Indian jets; two pilots arrested". The News International. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.

[2] India Blames Pakistan for Attack in Kashmir, Promising a Response Archived 23 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine, New York Times. Feb 15, 2019.

[3] "On Kashmir attack, Shah Mahmood Qureshi says 'violence is not the govt's policy'". DAWN.COM. 16 February 2019. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[bbc-4] "India Pakistan: Kashmir fighting sees Indian aircraft downed". BBC. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.

[5] "MEA spokesperson and Air Vice Marshal address media". Mumbai Mirror. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.

[6] "Pakistani F-16 shot down in J-K's Rajouri sector: Officials". Economic Times. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.

[7] "Pakistan had no choice but to respond, says DG ISPR". The Nation. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.

[8] "All wars are miscalculated, no one knows where they lead: PM Khan". DAWN. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.

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v t e Kashmir conflict
Timeline 1846–1946 1947–present
Wars and conflicts	Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Siachen conflict Kargil War 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff 2008 Indo-Pakistani standoff 2019 India–Pakistan border skirmishes (media coverage)
Border skirmishes	2011 2013 2014–2015 2016–2018 2016 Uri attack 2016 Baramulla attack 2016 Nagrota army base attack 2019 2020–2021
Operations	1947 Poonch rebellion Operation Gibraltar Operation Grand Slam Operation Tupac Operation Bison Operation Eraze Operation All Out Operation Sarp Vinash Operation Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Operation Calm Down 2016 strike 2019 airstrike
Negotiations	Jinnah–Mountbatten talks UN mediation of the Kashmir dispute Simla Agreement
Bombings and massacres	1947 Jammu massacres 2000 Amarnath pilgrimage massacre Chittisinghpura massacre 2001 Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly car bombing 2001 Kishtwar massacre 2002 Raghunath temple attacks 2006 Srinagar bombings 2006 Doda massacre March 2013 Srinagar attack 2016 Uri attack 2017 Amarnath Yatra attack 2018 Sunjuwan attack 2019 Pulwama attack 2022 Srinagar bombing
Militant organisations	Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Hizbul Mujahideen Lashkar-e-Taiba Jaish-e-Mohammed Harkat-ul-Mujahideen Harkat ul-Ansar Al-Badr (Jammu and Kashmir) Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind Dukhtaran-e-Millat Islamic State – Khorasan Province Tehreek-e-Azaadi Jammu and Kashmir United Jihad Council
Observances	19 January— Jammu and Kashmir Exodus Day 5 February— Kashmir Solidarity Day 13 July— Kashmir Martyrs' Day 5 August— Youm-e-Istehsal 22 October— Jammu and Kashmir Black Day (Invasion Day) 24 October— Azad Kashmir Day 26 October— Jammu and Kashmir Accession Day
Related	Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus Insurgency Human rights abuses OHCHR reports on Kashmir Rape Ikhwan Crowd control Stone pelting Peacebuilding Women's rights Over ground workers (OGWs) Village Defence Committees

v t e India–Pakistan relations
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Diplomacy	Karachi Agreement Jinnah–Mountbatten talks Liaquat–Nehru Pact Evacuee Trust Property Board Indus Waters Treaty Permanent Indus Commission Tashkent Declaration Simla Agreement Delhi Agreement Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines 1974 Non-Nuclear Aggression Agreement Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline Lahore Declaration Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline Agra Summit Indo-Pak Joint Judicial Committee India–Pakistan maritime trespassing Sir Creek Mahavir/Sadqi International Parade Ground
Conflicts	Partition of India Kashmir conflict Indian Armed Forces in Jammu and Kashmir Peacebuilding in Jammu and Kashmir Annexation of Junagadh Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948 Insurgency in Balochistan Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 Operation Gibraltar Custodian for Enemy Property for India Bangladesh Liberation War Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 Pakistani Instrument of Surrender Islamabad–New Delhi hotline POWs Line of Control NJ9842 Siachen conflict Operation Tupac Kargil War Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir Indian Army operations in Jammu and Kashmir 2008 Kashmir unrest 2010 Kashmir unrest 2016–2017 Kashmir unrest 2019–2021 lockdown Inter-Services Intelligence activities in India
Incidents	1947 Amritsar train massacre Indo-Pakistani water dispute of 1948 Sino-Pakistan Agreement Trans-Karakoram Tract 1959 Canberra shootdown 1971 Indian Airlines hijacking Kashmir Singh Samba spy scandal Indian Airlines Flight 423 Ravindra Kaushik Pan Am Flight 73 Operation Brasstacks Sarabjit Singh Sanaullah Haq 1992 India–Pakistan floods 1999 Pakistan Breguet 1150 Atlantic shootdown Beheading of Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar 2001 Indian Parliament attack 2001–2002 standoff 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings 2008 Mumbai attacks 2008 military standoff 2011 border skirmishes Khaleel Chishty 2013 border skirmishes 2014–2015 border skirmishes 2014 India–Pakistan floods 2014 Wagah border suicide attack Kulbhushan Jadhav 2016 Pathankot attack 2016 Uri attack 2016 Indian Line of Control strike 2016–2018 border skirmishes 2019 India–Pakistan border skirmishes 2019 Balakot airstrike 2019 Jammu and Kashmir airstrikes Media coverage 2020–2021 skirmishes 2021 Lahore bombing 2022 missile incident 2023 border skirmishes
Related	Border Wagah-Attari Attari–Wagah border ceremony Ganda Singh Wala-Hussainiwala Kartarpur Corridor Indians in Pakistan Pakistanis in India Anti-Indian sentiment Anti-Pakistan sentiment Illegal immigration to India East Bengali refugees Sports rivalries Cricket Field hockey Transport between India and Pakistan Delhi–Lahore Bus Jammu–Sialkot line Poonch-Rawalakot Bus Samjhauta Express Srinagar–Muzaffarabad Bus Thar Express Sind Mail Jinnah House Aaghaz-e-Dosti Aman ki Asha Indian reunification Indo-Pakistani Confederation Akhand Bharat Hindi–Urdu controversy Pakistani textbooks controversy Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project Nuclear arms race India and weapons of mass destruction Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Pakistan and state-sponsored terrorism Bleed India with a Thousand Cuts New Concept of War Fighting Cold Start Foodistan Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy Inspiration: Aman Ki Aasha tour
Category:India–Pakistan relations