New Delhi, May 24: The Indian Air Force (IAF) and ground forces downed at least five Pakistani aircraft, including a Chinese JF-17 and two F-16 fighter jets, during Operation Sindoor, in-charge of the BJP’s National Information and Technology, Amit Malviya, said on Saturday.

The information related to the setbacks to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), shared by Malviya on his social media handle X, comes in the backdrop of intense politics over Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi seeking information about IAF’s aircraft losses and the BJP questioning him for not caring to inquiring about Pakistani losses during the conflict.

Hailing IAF’s precision strikes and air dominance during Operation Sindoor, Malviya listed the PAF aircraft casualties as: one C-130 J medium lift aircraft, a JF-17 and two F-16 fighters on the ground and in the air.

A Pakistani SAAB-2000 airborne early warning system was destroyed as far as 315 kilometres away deep in Pakistan, said Malviya.

The Saab 2000 Erieye AEWC aircraft owned by Pakistan is equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system.

Malviya quoted a media report which said that the IAF also has proof of its missiles having downed one C-130 J medium lift aircraft, a JF-17 and two F-16 fighters on the ground and in the air.

The BJP leader also commended the performance of the S-400 air defence system. “India’s S-400 air defence system in Adampur went into action no less than 11 times during Operation Sindoor,” he wrote.

Adampur Air Base is the one which Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited after the ceasefire ‘understanding’ with Pakistan.

Malviya also shared other details of the IAF strikes on May 10, pointing to Rafale-launched SCALP missiles and SU-30 MKI-launched Brahmos missiles taking out the northern air command-control network at Nur Khan airbase in Chaklala in the first strike itself.

Talking about the precision missiles that struck Pakistan four times, he wrote on X, “The last strike was carried out at Jacobabad and Bholari air bases, but by that time Pakistan had folded and was seeking US intervention for a ceasefire.”

Malviya’s claims about IAF success against the enemy also demolish claims made in fake news circulated on social media and attributed to a British newspaper. The posts carried an article with the headline “Pakistan Air Force: The Undisputed King of the Skies.”

Dehradun, May 24: Two women, including a doctor from AIIMS Rishikesh, have tested positive for Covid-19 in Uttarakhand, prompting the state health department to issue a high alert.

According to officials, both individuals recently travelled to Uttarakhand from other states.

Dr Sunita Tamta, Director General of Health, Uttarakhand, confirmed that a 57-year-old woman from Gujarat who had come to Rishikesh for religious purposes exhibited symptoms of coronavirus.

After testing, she was confirmed positive and is currently under treatment. The second patient is a doctor from Bengaluru who has also tested positive and is receiving treatment at home, said Tamta.

She added that, as of May 22, a total of 277 COVID-19 cases have been reported across India, primarily from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Kerala.

While there are currently no active local cases in Uttarakhand, the state is intensifying preventive measures in line with central government guidelines.

“All Chief Medical Officers across the state have been instructed to increase Covid testing and sampling. If any new case is detected, genome sequencing should be conducted to identify the variant,” Dr. Tamta stated.

She also emphasised that oxygen plants and hospital beds are being kept operational as a precaution.

Following the two positive cases, the health department is focusing on aggressive sampling and monitoring of incoming travellers from other states.

Meanwhile, Karnataka has also seen a slight uptick in COVID-19 cases, especially in Bengaluru. State Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Friday confirmed that 35 cases have been reported in Karnataka this year, with 32 of them from Bengaluru.

“A gradual increase in Covid-19 spread has been observed in Bengaluru over the past 20 days, though the situation remains under control,” he said.

Minister Rao urged citizens to proactively follow Covid-appropriate behaviour.

“Pregnant women, children, immuno-compromised individuals, and those with comorbidities should wear face masks in crowded places,” he advised.

He also encouraged the use of hand sanitisers and recommended testing for individuals showing symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI).

In another development, a nine-month-old infant tested positive for COVID-19 in Bengaluru on May 22 via a Rapid Antigen Test, officials confirmed.

Authorities across multiple states are on alert as the country witnesses a fresh wave of sporadic COVID-19 cases, and health departments are urging continued vigilance to prevent a broader outbreak.

United Nations, May 24: India has charged Pakistan with violating the Indus Water Treaty by trampling its spirit of goodwill through thousands of terrorist attacks and by obstructing the updating of the infrastructure to ensure its safety.

“Despite this, India has shown extraordinary patience and magnanimity,” said India’s Permanent Representative P Harish, responding to what he said were Pakistan’s campaign of disinformation about New Delhi suspending the treaty.

“India has finally announced that the Treaty will be in abeyance until Pakistan, which is a global epicentre of terror, credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism. It is clear that it is Pakistan which remains in violation of the Indus Water Treaty and not India,” he said.

After the massacre of 26 people by Pakistan-based terrorists last month, India said it was suspending the treaty reached in 1960 under the aegis of the World Bank to provide Pakistan a consistent share of the water from the Indus and its allied water resources.

Speaking at an informal meeting of the Security Council on protecting water in armed conflict, Harish outlined the problems that have arisen since the treaty was signed.

“Far-reaching fundamental changes have taken place not only in terms of escalating security concerns through cross-border terror attacks, but also growing requirements for producing clean energy, climate change, and demographic change”, he said.

While the technology for dam infrastructure improved to ensure safety and more efficient water use, “some of the old dams are facing serious safety concerns”.

He said that New Delhi formally asked Islamabad on several occasions in the last two years to discuss modifications of the treaty to no avail.

“Pakistan has continued to consistently block any changes to this infrastructure, and any modifications of the provisions, which are permissible under the treaty,” Harish said.

Harish emphasised that while the fundamental basis of the treaty laid out in its preamble is a spirit of goodwill and friendship, Pakistan has inflicted on India three wars and thousands of terror attacks.

He added that these cynical acts continue to endanger the safety of our projects and the lives of civilians.

“In the last four decades, more than 20,000 Indian lives have been lost in terror attacks, the most recent of which was the dastardly targeted terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam last month. In fact, in 2012, terrorists even attacked the Tulbul Navigation Project in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.