India’s Embassy in Jakarta has dismissed reports claiming that the Indian Air Force lost jets to Pakistan during recent cross-border operations.
The embassy stated that the remarks made by its defence attaché at a seminar were taken out of context and misrepresented in the media.
“We have seen media reports regarding a presentation made by the Defence Attaché at a seminar. His remarks have been quoted out of context and the media reports are a misrepresentation of the intention and thrust of the presentation made by the speaker,” the embassy posted on X.
Comments were about civilian control and non-escalation
According to the embassy, Captain (Indian Navy) Shiv Kumar’s comments were meant to underline the Indian Armed Forces’ accountability to civilian leadership. “The presentation conveyed that the Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood,” the embassy added.
“It was also explained that the objective of Operation Sindoor was to target terrorist infrastructure and the Indian response was non-escalatory,” it said.
What did Captain Shiv Kumar actually say?
Captain Shiv Kumar, the defence attaché in Jakarta, made the remarks during a presentation at a seminar on 10 June at Universitas Dirgantara Marsekal Suryadarma. The seminar focused on analysing the India-Pakistan air conflict and Indonesia’s defence strategies.
During the 35-minute talk, Kumar reportedly acknowledged that India did lose some aircraft, something Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan had previously hinted at. “I may not agree that we lost so many aircraft, but I do agree we did lose some aircraft,” Kumar stated. General Chauhan, had dismissed as “absolutely incorrect” Pakistan’s claim that it shot down six Indian jets.
‘It’s not how many jets, but why they were lost’
General Chauhan had previously told Bloomberg that the focus shouldn’t be on the number of jets lost, but rather on why they were downed. He said that after the initial losses, India altered its tactics.
“After the loss, we changed our tactics and we went for the military installations. So we first achieved suppression of enemy air defences, and then that’s why all our attacks could easily go through using BrahMos missiles,” Kumar added, referring to the Indian strike on Pakistani air bases on 10 May.
Congress accuses government of misleading the nation
The Congress party seized on these comments to attack the government, accusing it of withholding the truth about India’s losses in Operation Sindoor. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote on X, “First the Chief of Defence Staff makes important revelations in Singapore. Then a senior defence official follows up from Indonesia. But why is the PM refusing to preside over an all-party meeting?”
Pawan Khera, another senior Congress leader, alleged the government “misled the nation from the start.” He added that previous references to losses were vague and only acknowledged indirectly by IAF officials.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also criticised the government after General Chauhan’s comments, demanding a special session of Parliament to discuss the matter.