KARACHI:Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan blamed India's ruling Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) for "whipping up war hysteria" over claims that Indiashot down a Pakistani F-16 during a standoff in February, saying the truth isalways the best policy. US-based Foreign Policy magazine, citing US officials,said all of Pakistan's F-16 combat jets had been accounted for, contradictingan Indian air force assessment that it had shot down one of the jets.
"The truthalways prevails and is always the best policy," Khan said in a Tweet."BJP's attempt to win elections through whipping up war hysteria and falseclaims of downing a Pak F 16 has backfired with US Defense officials alsoconfirming that no F16 was missing from Pakistan's fleet." Nuclear-armedneighbors India and Pakistan engaged in an aerial battle over the disputedregion of Kashmir a day after Indian jets crossed over into Pakistan to attacka suspected camp of anti-India militants. An Indian jet was brought down duringthe fight and its pilot captured when he ejected on the Pakistani side of theborder. He was later released.
India said it toohad shot down a Pakistani aircraft and the air force displayed pieces of amissile that it said had been fired by a Pakistani F-16 before it went down.Foreign Policy said in a report published on Thursday two US defense officialswith direct knowledge of the matter said US personnel had done a count ofPakistan's F-16s and found none missing. Details of the India-Pakistan airengagement have not been fully provided by either side. If the US report turnsout to be true, it would be a further blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whohad said that India had taught Pakistan a lesson, ahead of elections next week.
The BJP iscampaigning on a platform of tough national security, especially with regard toarch foe Pakistan. New Delhi blames Pakistan for stoking a 30-year revolt inMuslim-majority Kashmir but Islamabad denies any involvement. BJP spokesmanBizay Sonkar Shastri dismissed Khan's accusations. "Firstly, their(Pakistan's) habit of lying is no secret to the world. Secondly, this isabsolutely clear that the roots of terrorism lie in Pakistan and terrorism iscultivated in Pakistan," he told Reuters.
The success ofIndian air strikes on a camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group innorthwestern Pakistan has also been thrown into doubt after satellite imagesshowed little sign of damage. High-resolution satellite images reviewed by Reuterslast month showed that a religious school run by Jaish appeared to be stillstanding days after India said its warplanes had hit the Islamist group'straining camp on the site and killed a large number of militants. Pakistanclosed its airspace amid the standoff but most commercial air traffic has sinceresumed and major airports have opened.
Pakistan offeredto open one air route on Friday, an Indian government official said, withoutspecifying details and declining to be named as the matter was not public. AnAir India official said on condition of anonymity that Pakistan has opened oneof its 11 air routes, from the southern side, adding that the carrier beganoperations via this route on Friday. "Pakistan has opened one air routeover India on April 4th, it is a north-west bound route," Mujtaba Baig,spokesman for Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority said yesterday. An email sentto the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation was not immediatelyanswered. Air India did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
360 Indianprisoners
In anotherdevelopment, scale back from a confrontation that prompted world powers to urgerestraint. Tension has been running high since a suicide car bombing byPakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indianparamilitary police on Feb 14, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically onFeb 27, when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militanttraining base. The following day Pakistan shot down an Indian fighter jet andcaptured its pilot who was later released.
"Pakistanhas decided that 360 Indian prisoners - having breakup of 355 fishermen andfive civilians, who have completed their term of sentence, will bereleased," Mohammad Faisal, spokesman for the Pakistan Foreign Office,told reporters. He said the prisoners would be released in four batchesstarting from April 8. Due to the rocky relations between the two sides,prisoners who have completed their jail terms often languish in each other's jailsfor months, if not years, afterwards.
According to thelists exchanged by both sides in January, there are 347 Pakistani prisoners inIndian jails, 249 of whom are what the spokesman described as civilians and 98fishermen. There are 537 Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails, 483 of whom arefishermen. "We hope that India will reciprocate this," the foreignoffice spokesman said. Pakistan's F-16 combat jets have all been accounted for,US-based Foreign Policy magazine said, citing US officials, contradicting anIndian air force assessment that it had shot down one of the jets in theFebruary standoff. - Agencies