In initial phase of Op Sindoor, IAF constrained by mandate to not attack Pak military installations: Defence attache

New Delhi | A controversy has erupted over the remarks by the Indian defence attache in Indonesia suggesting that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets in the initial phase of Operation Sindoor as it was constrained by the mandate to not attack Pakistani military establishment and only target terrorist infrastructure.

As the purported video of the remarks made by Captain Shiv Kumar on June 10 at a gathering surfaced on Sunday, the Indian embassy in Jakarta said the officer only stated the fact that the Indian armed forces serve under political leadership, unlike some other countries in India's neighbourhood.

The Indian Navy officer was speaking at a seminar on "Analysis of the Pakistan-India Air Battle and Indonesia's Anticipatory Strategies from the Perspective of Air Power" at a university in Jakarta.

The opposition Congress on Sunday cited the reported comments of the defence attache on the loss of aircraft to accuse the government of having "misled" the country.

However, the Indian embassy said in a social media post, "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 presentation conveyed that the Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood," it said.

The embassy said it was explained that the objective of Operation Sindoor was to target terrorist infrastructure and the Indian response was non-escalatory.

In his presentation, the Indian defence attache said in view of some "constraints" owing to the mandate decided by the "political leadership", the Indian Air Force could not attack Pakistani military installations in the initial phase operation.

"We did lose some aircraft and that happened only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defence system," he said.

"But after the loss, we changed our tactics and we went for the military installations. So we first achieved suppression and destruction of enemy air defence and then that is why all our attacks could easily go through using surface-to-air missiles and Brahmos surface-to-surface missiles," he said.

Around a month back, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan said in Singapore that India rectified tactics and hit deep inside Pakistani territory after suffering losses of aircraft in the recent military clashes with Pakistan.

The Chief of Defence Staff did not specify the losses in terms of a number of platforms.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan 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.

After the strikes at the terror infrastructure, India informed Pakistan that it does not want to escalate the situation and the strikes were aimed at terrorist bases.

But as Pakistan launched a military retaliation, India responded to it very strongly.

Misled nation: Cong slams govt over Indian defence attache's reported 'lost jets' remarks

New Delhi | The Congress on Sunday cited the reported comments of India's defence attache to Indonesia that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor and accused the government of having "misled" the country.

However, the Indian embassy in Indonesia, in a post on X on Sunday, said that the defence attache's 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 Congress also asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "refusing" to preside over an all-party meeting to take the Opposition into confidence and why the demand for a special session of Parliament has been rejected.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications 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.

Referring to the media report, Ramesh said in his post 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 and take the Opposition into confidence? Why has the demand for a special session of Parliament been rejected?" he said.

In a post on X, the Indian embassy in Indonesia said, "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 misrepresentation of the intention and thrust of the presentation made by the speaker."

The presentation conveyed that the Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership "unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood", it said.

"It was also explained that the objective of Operation Sindoor was to target terrorist infrastructure and the Indian response was non-escalatory," the embassy said.

Citing the same media report as Ramesh, 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.

"This is a direct indictment of the Modi Government, particularly Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. No wonder they are ducking our demand for a Special Session of Parliament like the plague," he alleged.

They know they've compromised national security, and they're terrified of what the Congress party will expose before the people of India, Khera claimed.

The Congress had last month asked the government to be truthful about the country's losses during the conflict with Pakistan after CDS Gen Chauhan had remarked that India rectified tactics and hit deep inside enemy territory after aircraft "loss".

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

Latching onto the comment by the CDS, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had accused the government of misleading the nation on the India-Pakistan conflict and demanded holding a special session of Parliament immediately.

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.