Operation Sindoor – Defence attaché claims IAF jets lost due to ‘constraints given by political leadership’ during Op Sindoor, Indian embassy says remarks ‘misrepresented’

The Indian Embassy in Indonesia on Sunday clarified that remarks made by its defence attaché at a recent seminar were taken out of context and misrepresented. The attache had indicated that the Indian Air Force (IAF) lost jets to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor due to political constraints.

During a presentation in Jakarta on June 10, Captain (Indian Navy) Shiv Kumar acknowledged that the IAF lost some aircraft while striking terror-linked sites. He explained that Indian forces were directed not to target Pakistan’s military infrastructure or air defences, which led to the loss of fighter jets.

“Only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defences,” he said.

He further explained that after this setback, the Indian forces changed their strategy to focus on military installations, using suppression of enemy air defences and BrahMos missiles.

The Indian Embassy stated that the media misrepresented the attache’s remarks. “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,” it said in a post on X.

It emphasised that Captain Shiv Kumar simply reiterated that Operation Sindoor aimed to target terrorist infrastructure and that the civilian government had ordered the military to maintain a non-escalatory posture. 

“The presentation conveyed that the Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership, unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood,” the embassy added, in a veiled jab at Pakistan.

The Congress party responded strongly to the defence attaché’s comments. Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh demanded transparency from the government and questioned why the Prime Minister refused to hold an all-party meeting or convene a special session of Parliament.

“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 tweeted.

Senior leader Pawan Khera called the developments a direct indictment of the Modi government and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accusing them of compromising national security. Khera referred to earlier statements by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, who acknowledged losses during the early phases of Operation Sindoor but did not provide specific numbers.

General Chauhan had said India changed tactics after the aircraft losses and rejected Pakistani claims of downing six Indian jets as incorrect. He described the losses as tactical lessons, stressing the importance of understanding why the jets were lost rather than the losses themselves.