Pakistan state media releases video of captured Indian pilot amid rising tensions

A video purportedly showing a captured Indian fighter pilot being interrogated after his jet was shot down when it entered Pakistani airspace in Kashmir was released by Pakistan state media on Wednesday.

The video shows a blindfolded man in an Indian Air Force uniform, his face bloodied, with his hands tied behind him, as a soldier interrogates him. 

He gives his name, rank and serial number and when pressed for further information says, "I am not supposed to tell you that.”

Two Pakistani security sources told AFP the video was authentic, although the military has not yet officially confirmed it. 

In a photograph, which has also been confirmed by security sources, the pilot can be seen flanked by Pakistani military personnel.

Both Pakistan and India on Wednesday claimed they had shot down each other's warplanes, in a dramatic escalation of the dangerous confrontation between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Islamabad said it downed two Indian jets in its airspace and captured two pilots, but insisted it does not "want to go towards war" with its neighbour.

Pakistani military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said one of the downed Indian planes had fallen in Pakistani-held Kashmir, while the other came down on the Indian side of the heavily militarised de facto border dividing the territory. 

He said one of the captured pilots was in custody and the other was in hospital.

The Indian foreign ministry said only one of its planes had been shot down. 

"In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one Mig-21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody," said Indian foreign ministry spokesman Rajeesh Kumar.

He also said a Pakistani jet had been shot down by Indian forces. Pakistan denied that any of its planes have been downed.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan called for talks with India on Wednesday and warned of a catastrophe should the conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals continue to escalate.

"Can we afford any miscalculation with the kind of weapons that we have and you have?" he said in a televised statement after both sides said they had shot down each other's warplanes.

"I once again invite India to come to the negotiating table," said Khan, who has called for dialogue with New Delhi in the past.

"Better sense should prevail," he added, "if escalation begins from here, where will it go?"

Khan also repeated the military's earlier statement that it had shot downtwo Indian Air Force planes, which sent tensions spiralling on Wednesday, fuelling fears of a fresh conflict between India and Pakistan.

"Today we shot down two Indian MiGs which crossed our border," he said, adding: "Pilots are with us".

Indian on Tuesday launched multiple airstrikes on what it said were militant camps in Pakistan's territory, said to be the first since 1971.

It followed a suicide attack, which India blamed on the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group, which killed 40 Indian soldiers in Kashmir earlier this month.

Both India and Pakistan claim the Kashmir region in full but only control parts.

Cross border fire around the "Line of Control", which separates the two sides, has killed and wounded dozens of soldiers and civilians on both sides in recent years.

The EU and other countries have urged both sides to show restraint and prevent tensions escalating.

The two countries have fought several major conflicts since their independence from the UK in 1947.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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