Pakistan had no option but to respond: military spokesperson

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan does "not want to go towards war" with India, its military spokesman said Wednesday, hours after Islamabad said it shot down two Indian warplanes in its airspace, igniting fears of an all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

"We do not want escalation, we do not want to go towards war," Major General Asif Ghafoor told a press conference in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, calling for talks with New Delhi.

The military spokesperson said Pakistan had no option but to respond Indian aggression.

Addressing the media, he said Pakistan was forced to hit back but we did in a responsible way.

The Pakistan Air Force engaged six Indian targets and hit them when they were in an open area, he added. "We had made sure that there shall not be any civilian damage and no collateral damage."

He added that two Indian pilots had been captured, with one in custody and one in hospital.

Ghafoor said the jets had been shot down after Pakistani planes earlier Wednesday flew across the Line of Control hitting non-military targets including supply depots.

Afterwards, he said, the two Indian planes crossed the LoC into Pakistani airspace.

"The Pakistan Air Force was ready, they took them on, there was an engagement. As a result both the Indian planes were shot down and the wreckage of one fell on our side while the wreckage of the other fell on their side," he said.

He asked the international community to put pressure on India and tell them that escalation would result into a major conflict between two countries.

The spokesperson also rubbished Indian claims that a PAF F-16 jet was shot down.