Op Sindoor: Defence attache says IAF lost jets due to ‘constraints’; embassy clarifies

The Indian Embassy in Indonesia issued a clarification on Sunday (June 29) that the remarks made by its defence attache at a seminar on June 10 in Jakarta that the Indian Air Force (IAF) “lost some aircraft” to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor due to political constraints were “misrepresented and taken out of context”.

What did the defence attache say?

India’s defence attache to Indonesia Captain Shiv Kumar, during a seminar in Jakarta on June 10, admitted that the IAF lost some aircraft during the initial phases of Operation Sindoor because it had been directed by the Indian government not to target Pakistan’s air defences or military infrastructure.

“Only because of this constraint given by the political leadership the IAF lost some fighter jets,” said Captain Shiv Kumar.

Also Read: Cong slams govt over Indian defence attache's reported 'lost jets' remarks

He said after the initial setback, the Indian forces changed their tactics and achieved the suppression of Pakistan’s air defences and then “all our attacks could easily go through using surface-to-air missiles and Brahmos surface-to-surface missiles”.

The Indian Navy officer was speaking at a seminar on "Analysis of the Pakistan-India Air Battle and Indonesia's Anticipatory Strategies from the Perspective of Air Power" at a university in Jakarta.

Indian Embassy’s clarification

Nineteen days after Captain Kumar’s remarks at the seminar and after a purported video of his presentation surfaced on Sunday (June 29), the Indian Embassy in Indonesia came out with a clarification on that his remarks were “quoted out of context and the media reports were a mis-representation of the intention and thrust of the presentation made by the speaker".

Also Read: Operation Sindoor not over yet: Rajnath Singh warns Pak against future terror attacks

In its statement on X, the Embassy said that the Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership “unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood” (in a pointed but veiled reference to Pakistan).

The Embassy also took pains to highlight the fact that the objective of Operation Sindoor was to target terrorist infrastructure and that the Indian response was non-escalatory.

CDS Gen Chauhan’s remarks

Around a month back, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan said in Singapore that India rectified tactics and hit deep inside Pakistani territory after suffering losses of aircraft in the recent military clashes with Pakistan.

The Chief of Defence Staff did not specify the losses in terms of the number of aircraft.

Also Read: 'Outcomes important, not losses': CDS Chauhan on Operation Sindoor

General Chauhan had also said Pakistan’s claim of having shot down six Indian jets was “absolutely incorrect”.

“What is important is not the jets being shot down but why they were down,” the general had said.

Congress demands transparency

The Congress on Sunday cited the reported comments of the defence attache on the loss of aircraft to accuse the government of having "misled" the country, and demanded transparency.

The Congress party’s general secretary and chief of communications Jairam Ramesh questioned why PM Modi is refusing to take the Opposition into confidence.

Also Read: ‘Jet being downed not important, but why’: CDS on Op Sindoor losses

“Why is the PM refusing to preside over an all-party meeting and take the Opposition into confidence? Why has the demand for a special session of Parliament been rejected?” asked Jairam Ramesh in a post on X.

Congress leader Pawan Khera said this was a “direct indictment” of the Modi government and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

“They know they’ve compromised national security, and they’re terrified of what the Congress Party will expose before the people of India,” said Khera.

Operation Sindoor

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.

Also Read: CDS Chauhan outlines India’s strategy and wins in Op Sindoor: 10 points

After the strikes at the terror infrastructure, India informed Pakistan that it does not want to escalate the situation and the strikes were aimed at terrorist bases.

But as Pakistan launched a military retaliation, India responded to it very strongly.

(With agency inputs)