Raveesh Kumar of the Ministry of External Affairs has on Wednesday afternoon confirmed that one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by the Indian Air Force this morning. "In this engagement, we have lost one MiG 21. Also, a pilot is missing in action. Pakistan claims he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," he said.

Will India take up the case of the pilot through diplomatic channels and/or the United Nations? "Pakistan has not formally informed India about the detention of the pilot which it claims to have in its custody. Only one pilot is missing so far. Pakistani official had claimed two Indian pilots had been captured," a news agency has quoted sources as saying.

A video in which the missing pilot is seen has been released by some Pakistani authorities. It's illegal as per the Geneva Convention to parade prisoners of war.