The Pakistani air force said Wednesday that it downed two Indian warplanes and took one pilot captive in the latest escalation of a recently reinvigorated conflict between two hostile nuclear powers.
Indian officials disputed the Pakistani account, telling Reuters that both Indian pilots and a civilian were killed in the crash.
The planes were downed after crossing the disputed border region of Kashmir into Pakistani territory, according to Pakistani officials.
The attack represents the latest salvo in a tit-for-tat escalation that began earlier this month when a suicide bomber killed 40 Indian police officers in Kashmir.
Pakistani terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad took credit for the February 14 bombing but Pakistani officials have denied any involvement. In response to the bombing, India launched an airstrike against a Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp in Pakistan on Tuesday.
Indian officials claimed “a very large number of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and jihadis” were killed in the attack while Pakistani officials said no one was harmed. The airstrike was the first time Indian planes crossed into Pakistani territory since the two countries went to war in 1971.
Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan urged Indian officials to come to the negotiating table during a broadcast address to the nation on Wednesday.
“History tells us that wars are full of miscalculation. My question is that, given the weapons we have, can we afford miscalculation,” Khan said. “We should sit down and talk.”