Pakistan flies the F-16s: Spooked by us, say Indian officials

Bengaluru, Sept 23: As India steps up the pressure on terrorist state Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attack and also for sponsoring the Kashmir unrest, a tweet by a senior journalist stated, F-16 planes flying at 10.20 pm over Islamabad. The tweet by GEO TV's senior journalist, Hamid Mir posted at 10.53 pm on September 22 created quite a stir.

While Mir appeared to have hinted that it was a military drill carried out by the Pakistani Air Force, he also retweeted a post that read, "don't worry it is just to assure the people of Islamabad that our forces are fully aware and ready to fight."

In the aftermath of the Uri attack, India has decided to take some stringent action against Pakistan. This exercise could well be a result of that and Pakistan it trying to show its might, said an Indian intelligence official.

Other officials say that this is more of a psychological tactic as Pakistan believes that its terror camps would be hit. There has been a lot of activity along the border and the operational readiness of the army is also being strengthened.

Further several presentations have been made to government explaining a military operation which could be conducted to step up the heat on Pakistan.

Spotting of the F-16s over Islamabad comes in the wake of Pakistan army chief, General Raheel Sharif assuring his nation that they are ready to face India.

Indian officials say that this exercise is nothing but propaganda. "It was an exercise carried out to send a message to India that Pakistan was readying its air force in case of any strike. It would not be right to say that the exercise was carried out to assure the people of Pakistan about their might," the official also adds.

OneIndia News