IAF Jet Loss Remark 'Out of Context', Says Indian Embassy

The Indian Embassy in Indonesia on Sunday issued a clarification following media coverage of remarks made by its Defence Attaché, Navy Captain Shiv Kumar, regarding Indian Air Force (IAF) losses during Operation Sindoor. The embassy stated that the comments had been "taken out of context" and "misrepresented."

In an official statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), the embassy said:

“We have seen media reports regarding a presentation made by the Defence Attaché at a seminar. 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.”

The embassy further clarified that the essence of Captain Kumar’s presentation was to highlight the professionalism of the Indian Armed Forces and their adherence to civilian political leadership, in contrast with some neighbouring countries. It also reiterated that Operation Sindoor — India’s precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir — was designed to be non-escalatory in nature.

What Was Said

The controversy stems from Captain Kumar’s presentation at a seminar in Jakarta on June 10. While discussing India’s military response during Operation Sindoor, he said the Indian Air Force had lost “some aircraft” after conducting strikes on terror camps. He attributed these losses to political directives which limited the scope of the operation.

“Only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defences,” he said, explaining why Pakistani air defences remained active during the first wave of strikes.

He also noted that Indian tactics evolved following the initial setbacks:

“We went for the military installations... we first achieved suppression of enemy air defences and then... all our attacks could easily go through using BrahMos missiles,” the defence attaché added.

Political Firestorm

Captain Kumar’s remarks sparked a strong political reaction back home. The Congress party seized upon the statements to criticise the BJP-led government, accusing it of misleading the country on national security matters.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh demanded answers:

“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?”

Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera called the remarks a “direct indictment” of the government, stating:

“They know they’ve compromised national security, and they’re terrified of what the Congress Party will expose before the people of India.”

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