Pak officer who captured Abhinandan Varthaman in 2019 killed in Taliban clash

According to an India Today report, Pakistan’s military confirmed that 11 terrorists were eliminated during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in South Waziristan district.

However, two security personnel, including Major Shah, also lost their lives in the encounter.

The 2019 India-Pakistan aerial confrontation was triggered by India’s airstrike on a terrorist training camp in Balakot, located in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on February 26—twelve days after the Pulwama attack.

In response, Pakistan deployed around 24 fighter jets to target Indian military installations. This action led to a brief but intense aerial engagement between the two air forces. The dogfight began around 10 am on February 27 and lasted approximately ten minutes, taking place in the skies over Nowshera in Jammu’s Rajouri district. It marked the first direct aerial combat between India and Pakistan since the 1971 war.