### India's Military Admits to Loss of Fighter Jets in Conflict with Pakistan

In an unprecedented move, India's military has confirmed that several of its fighter jets were downed during intense skirmishes with Pakistan in early May, marking the first public acknowledgment of such losses. This admission comes after a prolonged period of denial, during which Indian officials refused to confirm any aircraft losses.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Anil Chauhan, the Chief of Defense Staff of the Indian Armed Forces, addressed the issue in an interview with Bloomberg correspondent Haslinda Amin. When pressed on Pakistan's claim of downing six Indian jets, Chauhan initially dismissed the figure as "absolutely incorrect." However, he later implied that some jets were indeed lost, emphasizing that understanding the reasons behind their downing was of greater importance than the specific number. “What is important is why they went down,” Chauhan remarked.

Chauhan admitted that India's military had made a "tactical mistake" during the operations but stressed that the issue was quickly identified and rectified. "The good part is we were able to understand the tactical mistake which we made, remedy it, rectify it and then implement it again after two days and flew all our jets, again targeting at long range," he said.

The conflict, which escalated in early May, saw Pakistan claim to have shot down five Indian fighter jets, including three advanced French-made Rafales. According to Pakistan, these aircraft were downed using Chinese-made jets. Initially, India and representatives of its ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, including spokesperson Nalin Kohli, vehemently denied these claims, asserting that such significant losses would have been publicly acknowledged.

However, a different narrative emerged from a senior French intelligence official, who told CNN that at least one Indian Rafale fighter jet had been downed by Pakistani forces, with investigations ongoing into whether more were lost. Indian eyewitnesses also reported seeing an aircraft engulfed in flames plummeting from the sky.

The military tensions in May represented a significant escalation between the two South Asian nations and were triggered by the killing of tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir in April. India had accused Pakistan of orchestrating the attack, a charge Pakistan denied. A truce between the two countries was declared on May 10, bringing a temporary halt to the hostilities.