A massive aerial clash between Indian and Pakistani fighter jets took place earlier this week, marking one of the most intense dogfights in modern aviation history, according to a senior Pakistani security official who spoke with CNN.
The high-stakes standoff involved a staggering 125 fighter jets from both sides, exchanging missiles for over an hour. Remarkably, neither side crossed into the other’s airspace during the confrontation, with some missile engagements occurring at distances exceeding 100 miles, the official said.
Caution from both sides stems from a smaller but consequential air battle in 2019, during which an Indian pilot was shot down over Pakistani territory, captured, and later returned. That incident, widely seen as a humiliation for India, likely influenced both air forces’ decisions to avoid breaching each other’s airspace this time.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the nation Wednesday night, stating that Indian jets were blown to “smithereens” by Pakistan’s air force. He condemned India’s latest action as an “act of war” and declared that Pakistan “has every right to respond.”
Following an emergency meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), Sharif called on the military to “avenge the loss of innocent Pakistani lives.”
The death toll from recent Indian strikes has climbed to 31 in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, with at least 57 others wounded, according to Pakistani military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry.
