Know identity of downed Pak F-16 pilot: Nirmala Sitharaman

A news report in The Times of India quoted defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying the Indian military knew the identity of the Pakistani pilot whose F-16 was shot down by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s MiG-21 on February 27.

She said Pakistan would not admit to having lost the F-16 or its pilot. In the report, she says the pilot was beaten up by villagers in Pakistan, and that the pilot had probably died in a hospital. “Pakistan lives in a state of denial,” Sitharaman said. She, however, refused to divulge any more details.