Pakistan's statement on military action 'irresponsible and preposterous', says India

Calling the statement "irresponsible and preposterous statement", India said the statement clearly intended to whip up war hysteria in the region.

"This public gimmick appears to be a call to Pakistan-based terrorists to undertake a terror attack in India," India's foreign ministry spokesperson said.

"Pakistan needs to take credible and irreversible steps against terrorism operating from all territories under its control rather than making hysterical statements to obfuscate the core issue that bedevils our region: cross- border terrorism. Pakistan has been advised to use established diplomatic and DGMO channels to share any actionable and credible intelligence it has about imminent terror attacks," India said.

"India reserves the right to respond firmly and decisively to any cross border terrorist attack," the foreign ministry statement added.

Pakistan's claim

Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday claimed that India was planning more military action against the neighbouring nation in the third week of April and called on the international community to reprimand India for its irresponsible conduct.

As per Dawn News, the foreign minister, while addressing a press conference in Multan, announced that the government has "reliable intelligence that India is devising a new plan".

"I am speaking responsibly, I hold a position of responsibility, and I know the words I utter will be picked up by the international media," he was quoted as saying by the Pakistani news paper. "Preparations are being made, and there are chances of another attack against Pakistan. According to our information, the action could be taken between April 16 and 20."

"A new mishap could be staged in Indian-occupied Kashmir, just like [the] Pulwama [attack]. And its purpose will be to justify their [India's] offensive against Pakistan and to increase diplomatic pressure against Islamabad," he said.

India-Pakistan: Deteriorating relationship in recent times

Relationship between India and Pakistan deteriorated in recent times over the Pulwama attack incident where 40 Indian paramilitary forces personnel were killed.

India had blamed Pakistan for the attack.

India carried out an air strike two weeks later on a training base in Pakistan which belonged to terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed. The group had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack.

India and Pakistan were also engaged in an aerial encounter on the very next day.

Pakistan had captured an Indian pilot and later released him.

Imran Khan targets BJP and Indian Polls:

Pakistan PM Imran Khan on Saturday targeted India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and said it has tried to win the Lok Sabha polls by "whipping up war hysteria".

Khan, who came to power by winning the general polls last year, said a US report which found none of Pakistan’s F-16s “missing” vindicated the country’s stand that it did not use the jets in the aerial fight with the neighbouring nation on Feb 27.

"The truth always prevails and is always the best policy. BJP's attempt to win elections through whipping up war hysteria and false claims of downing a Pak F 16 has backfired with US Defence officials also confirming that no F16 was missing from Pakistan's fleet," Khan tweeted.

Indian Air Force on Friday said it had proof of shooting down a Pakistani F-16 aircraft in February, refuting claims made otherwise in a US journal report.

A report in the US news publication Foreign Policy had said on Thursday: "Two senior US defense officials with direct knowledge of the situation told Foreign Policy that U.S. personnel recently counted Islamabad's F-16s and found none missing."

Reacting to it, the Indian Air Force today said: "The Indian Forces have confirmed sighting ejections at two different places on that day. The two sightings were at places separated by at least 8-10 km. One was an IAF MiG 21 Bison and other a PAF aircraft. Electronic signatures gathered by us indicate that the PAF aircraft was a F-16."

IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was the pilot ejecting from the IAF MiG 21 Bison. He was captured and later released by Pakistan.

On Feb 28, the IAF had furnished to the media pieces of the AMRAAM missile fired by a Pakistani F-16. However, the missile did not prove whether the fighter aircraft was actually shot down.

The Foreign Policy report said Pakistan had invited US officials to physically count its F-16s after the incident.

"A US count of Pakistan's F-16 fleet has found that all the jets are present and accounted for, a direct contradiction to India's claim that it shot down one of the fighter jets during a February clash," the report said.

"It is possible that in the heat of combat, Varthaman, flying a vintage MiG-21 Bison, got a lock on the Pakistani F-16, fired, and genuinely believed he scored a hit. But the count, conducted by U.S. authorities on the ground in Pakistan, sheds doubt on New Delhi's version of events, suggesting that Indian authorities may have misled the international community about what happened that day," says Foreign Policy.