The leaders of 21 political parties on Wednesday expressed their solidarity with the armed forces while expressing deep anguish over the "blatant politicisation" of the sacrifices made by the forces by the "leaders of the ruling party."

The meeting of leaders of 21 political parties condemned the "dastardly" Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit. However, the leaders observed that the Prime Minister has, regrettably, not convened an-all party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy, stating that "national security must transcend narrow political considerations."

"The meeting paid homage to our martyrs and expressed solidarity with our Armed Forces in crushing the menace of terrorism. The meeting lauded the action taken by the Indian Air Force against the terrorist camp on 26th February 2019 and praised our Armed Forces for their valour and bravery," a joint statement said.

"The meeting of 21 parties expressed their deep anguish over the blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by our armed forces by leaders of the ruling party," it added.

A day after India carried out aerial strikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Balakot in Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir saw heightened military activity today, with Pakistani jets violating the Indian air space and dropping some bombs in Rajouri sector after which one of their fighters was shot down.

Expressing concerns on the "emerging security situation", the leaders "urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity."

India said it foiled an attempt by Pakistan Air Force this morning to carry out strikes in Jammu and Kashmir by shooting down an F-16 fighter plane while losing its own MiG-21 jet after which a pilot was "missing in action".

India's External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar, flanked by Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, said at a media briefing in New Delhi that Pakistan resorted to use of its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side in response to India's counter-terror operation against JeM camp in Balakot in Pakistan yesterday.

Responding to MEA's statement, the opposition leaders said, "Post the statement from the MEA regarding targeting of our military installations and loss of one fighter aircraft, the leaders condemned the Pakistani misadventure and expressed their deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot.

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