The downing of the jets are not “hostile acts” and Pakistan was defending its territory, the country’s defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.

India’s ministry of external affairs didn’t immediately respond to requests for information sent outside of Indian business hours.

Earlier, India’s government said it conducted targeted military strikes against Pakistan, an expected move after it pledged retaliation for a militant attack last month in Kashmir that killed 26 people.