India’s Defence Attaché in Indonesia revealed that the Air Force suffered the loss of a few aircraft amid the operations carried out during Operation Sindoor. Due to the outrage this speech caused back home, the Indian Embassy in Jakarta released a strongly worded clarification.
Highlights:
There is controversy over the Defence Attaché’s comment on IAF casualties during Operation Sindoor. The embassy clarified that the remarks were misinterpreted and taken out of context. Captain Kumar stated that strikes against Pakistan’s military were restricted due to political constraints.
Addressing the matter on Sunday, the Indian Embassy in Indonesia claimed that remarks made by its Defence Attaché at a recent seminar, which implied that the Indian Air Force (IAF) lost aircraft as a result of political pressures during Operation Sindoor, were “taken out of context” and “misrepresented”.
Following the Congress party’s highlighting of the Navy officer’s comments and accusations that the Modi government had misled the country about the military losses sustained during a four-day battle with Pakistan in May, the correction was made.
The Defence Attaché’s Remarks
Captain (Indian Navy) Shiv Kumar, India’s Defence Attaché in Indonesia, admitted that the IAF lost “some aircraft” during Operation Sindoor’s targeting of terror-related locations in Jakarta on June 10. He clarified that the Indian military was told not to attack Pakistan’s air defences or military installations. He said that “restrictions from the political leadership on striking military installations or air defence systems” were the cause of the losses.
Captain Kumar went on to say that the Indian soldiers changed their strategy following early setbacks: after suffering the first setbacks, we shifted tactics and started attacking military targets. We used BrahMos missiles to successfully execute all of our attacks after first suppressing the enemy’s air defence.
Embassy Disavows Misunderstanding
Given the controversy surrounding the officer’s remarks, the Indian Embassy in Jakarta provided a definitive explanation. The embassy said in a post on X (previously Twitter), “Media reports misrepresented the presentation’s focus and intent, and his remarks were quoted out of context.”
The embassy emphasised that the attaché had just restated that the civilian administration had directed the armed forces to refrain from taking a confrontational posture and that Operation Sindoor was directed towards terror infrastructure. The embassy made the following subtle jab at Pakistan: “The presentation emphasised that the Indian Armed Forces are governed by civilian political leadership, in contrast to certain neighbouring countries.”
Congress Directly Charges the Government
The Congress party swiftly seized on the attaché’s remarks to mount a political offensive. Jairam Ramesh, the head of party communications, called for openness and enquired: why won’t the prime minister take the opposition into confidence and lead an all-party meeting? What led to the rejection of the call for a special session of Parliament? Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera called it a “direct charge” aimed at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the Modi government. He escalated his criticism by stating:
“They are afraid of what the Congress may disclose to the Indian people because they are aware that they have jeopardised national security.” Khera also cited earlier remarks made by General Anil Chauhan, the Chief of Defence Staff, who admitted losses in the early stages of Operation Sindoor but did not provide exact figures. After losing aircraft, India changed its policy to carry out more aggressive, deeper strikes and step up the suppression of enemy air defences, General Chauhan told Bloomberg in Singapore last month. The senior general had declared that Pakistan’s allegations of downing six Indian jets were “completely untrue,” saying, “Knowing why jets were downed is more important than the fact that they were downed.”