• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

DATE=5/27/99
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-249878
TITLE=PAKISTAN / INDIA KASHMIR (L)
BYLINE=SARAH HORNER
DATELINE=ISLAMABAD
CONTENT=
VOICED AT: 
INTRO: PAKISTAN SAYS IT HAS SHOT DOWN TWO INDIAN FIGHTER JETS 
THAT CROSSED INTO ITS TERRITORY IN THE DISPUTED REGION OF 
KASHMIR. AS SARAH HORNER REPORTS FROM ISLAMABAD, THE DOWNING OF 
THE PLANES IS ESCALATING TENSION BETWEEN THE TWO NEIGHBORS.
TEXT:  A PAKISTANI MILITARY SPOKESMAN SAYS THE TWO INDIAN JETS 
WERE SHOT DOWN LATE THURSDAY MORNING.  SPEAKING AT A PACKED NEWS 
CONFERENCE IN THE PAKISTANI CAPITAL, ISLAMABAD, MAJOR-GENERAL 
ANIS BAJWA SAYS WRECKAGE FROM THE PLANES HAS FALLEN SIX-TO-SEVEN 
KILOMETERS INSIDE PAKISTANI KASHMIR.
HE SAYS PAKISTAN FIRED ANTI-AIRCRAFT WEAPONS BRINGING DOWN THE 
RUSSIAN-MADE FIGHTER PLANES. ACCORDING TO THE SPOKESMAN, THE 
PILOT OF THE MIG-21 WAS KILLED AND THE PILOT OF THE MIG-27 HAS 
BEEN CAPTURED BY PAKISTANI SOLDIERS.
                         // BAJWA ACT //
         OF COURSE THERE IS NO WAR DECLARED YET BY PAKISTAN 
         AGAINST INDIA OR BY INDIA AGAINST PAKISTAN. YET BECAUSE 
         THE ACT COMMITTED BY THESE TWO AIRCRAFT WAS AN ACT OF 
         WAR, THEREFORE THIS PILOT WILL BE TREATED AS A 
         PRISONER-OF-WAR WHO HAS BEEN CAPTURED. AND OF COURSE, 
         THE BODY OF THE OTHER PILOT WILL BE RETURNED ONLY 
         ACCORDING TO THE REGULATIONS THAT APPLY IN THIS 
         SITUATION.
                          // END ACT //
THE MILITARY SPOKESMAN SAYS THE PLANES FLEW FROM SRINIGAR, THE 
SUMMER CAPITAL OF INDIAN-HELD KASHMIR.  HE SAYS INDIA HAS IN THE 
PAST FEW WEEKS GRADUALLY ESCALATED TENSION ALONG THE 
LINE-OF-CONTROL -- THE LINE WHICH DIVIDES THE INDIAN AND 
PAKISTANI PARTS OF KASHMIR.
WEDNESDAY, INDIA LAUNCHED AIRSTRIKES NEAR THE TOWNS OF KARGIL AND
DRASS, IN INDIAN-HELD KASHMIR, TO DISLODGE WHAT IT CALLED 
INFILTRATORS. THE SAME DAY, PAKISTAN SAID INDIAN JETS BOMBED 
PAKISTANI TERRITORY AND WARNED OF RETALIATION.
ACCORDING TO MAJOR-GENERAL BAJWA INDIAN JETS FIRST MADE 
NON-SERIOUS VIOLATIONS OF PAKISTANI AIR-SPACE TEN DAYS AGO.
                         // BAJWA ACT //
         I CAN ONLY SAY ON BEHALF OF THE PAKISTAN ARMY, THE 
         PAKISTAN AIR FORCE AND THE PAKISTAN NAVY THAT WE ARE 
         READY TO DEFEND THE TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF OUR 
         MOTHERLAND AT ANY AND EVERY COST.
                          // END ACT //
PAKISTAN AND INDIA HAVE FOUGHT TWO WARS OVER KASHMIR SINCE BOTH 
COUNTRIES ACHIEVED INDEPENDENCE 50 YEARS AGO. INDIA SAYS PAKISTAN
BACKS AN ARMED MUSLIM INSURGENCY IN KASHMIR, A CHARGE PAKISTAN 
DENIES. (SIGNED)
NEB/SLH/KL
27-May-99 10:30 AM EDT (1430 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.