INDIAN PM INDIRECTLY ADMITS SUPERIORITY OF PAKISTAN'A ARMED FORCES

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has indirectly admitted the superiority of Pakistani military in the ongoing confrontation between the two countries triggered by the February 14 suicide attack on Indian forces in the Pulwama district of Occupied Kashmir. “Today, we badly felt the absence of Rafale fighter jets [in our air force fleet]. If we had Rafale, the scenario would have been different,” Modi said while speaking at the India Today Conclave 2019 in New Delhi on Saturday. Pakistan Air Force shot down two Indian warplanes on Wednesday – a day after Indian aircraft violated Pakistan’s airspace and dropped their payload in a jungle of Balakot district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. New Delhi claimed its forces also shot down a Pakistan F-16 fighter jet but failed to substantiate its claim with credible evidence. Modi said he would like to make it very clear that in the past, the country ‘suffered’ due to vested interest over the Rafale jets. The Modi administration has signed a multibillion-dollar deal with French defence manufacturer Dassault Aviation to acquire 36 Rafale jets in an effort to overhaul the Indian Air Force. The opposition accuses Modi of wrongdoing in the deal. The Russian-made MiG jets form an important part of the IAF fleet. India started using the MiGs in 1963, but since 1970, 170 pilots and 40 civilians have been killed in accidents involving the aircraft series. Due to high rate of crashes, MiGs have come be called ‘flying coffins’. “We continue to suffer due to the politicisation of the Rafale deal. The vested interests and politicisation has caused great harm to the nation’s interest,” he said. Attacking the opposition, Modi said they [opposition] are welcome to criticise his government’s policies and find faults in its working. “But I request you not to oppose matters related to the nation’s security,” he said. India forces have relentlessly shelling civilian population along the Line of Control (LoC) since the Pulwama attack and the intensity and frequency of their shelling has increased since the downing of their warplanes on Wednesday. Pakistan Army troops have befittingly and comprehensively responded to India’s aggression along the LoC, targeting posts of Indian border guards with accuracy. Intelligence sources say there are at least 15 confirmed casualties on the Indian side, though the death toll might be high.