Operation Sindoor: Defence attache's 'lost jets' remarks taken out of context, says Indian Embassy

The Indian Embassy in Indonesia on Sunday dismissed media reports claiming that India’s Defence Attache to the country had stated New Delhi lost several fighter jets to Pakistan during the early phase of "Operation Sindoor," clarifying that the remarks were taken out of context.

"We have seen media reports regarding a presentation made by the Defence Attache at a Seminar. His remarks have been quoted out of context and the media reports are a mis-representation of the intention and thrust of the presentation made by the speaker," the Indian Embassy in Indonesia said in a post on X.

The Embassy added that the presentation was intended to highlight that the Indian Armed Forces operate under civilian political leadership, unlike in some neighbouring countries.

Meanwhile, the Congress and other opposition parties have accused the central government of having misled the country by hiding from the nation the lost jets. 

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X, which quoted Captain (Indian Navy) Shiv Kumar, speaking at a seminar in Indonesia recently, that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025, during its targeting of terror-linked sites in Pakistan.

"First the Chief of Defence Staff makes important revelations in Singapore. Then a senior defence official follows up from Indonesia," Ramesh said in his post on X. 

He also questioned the central government’s reluctance to hold an all-party meeting on the issue. "But 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?" he asked. 

Citing the same media report, Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said the Modi government has "misled the nation from the start - failing to disclose the aircraft losses during Operation Sindoor".

"There were oblique references to losses in air combat on 6/7 May, during a briefing by the DG Air Ops (Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti) when he said - 'we are in a combat situation and losses are a part of combat'," he said on X.

"Then, it was left to Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan to make the first official admission of our attrition in the air while speaking to Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore," Khera said.

"And now, in another shocking revelation by Capt. Shiv Kumar, it has emerged that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025 during its targeting of Pakistan's terror-linked sites 'only because of the constraint given by the political leadership'," the Congress leader said.

Gen Chauhan, however, dismissed Islamabad's claim of downing six Indian jets as "absolutely incorrect".

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan using long-range weapons 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.