Did Pakistan's army shoot down one of its own aircraft near the LOC (Line Of Control) out of fear it might have been a jet from India? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a satire website and the burned jet in the picture is actually Belgian.
The story originated from an article published on February 22, 2019 titled "Out Of Fear, Pakistan Army Mistakenly Shoots Down Its Own Aircraft" (archived here) which opened:
After the Pulwama terror attack, Pakistan is constantly living in the fear of India's revenge. The country is under a tremendous panic mode and that is evident from its actions. Imran Khan claims that he's ready for war and that Pakistan shall retaliate in case India attacks them, which clearly shows that both Imran Khan and the Pakistan Army is a spending sleepless nights. However, the fact that Pakistan is panicking got further established when the Pakistan Army shot down an aircraft, which was its own.
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
Out Of Fear, Pakistan Army Mistakenly Shoots Down Its Own Aircraft
After the Pulwama terror attack, Pakistan is constantly living in the fear of India's revenge. The country is under a tremendous panic mode and that is evident from its actions. Imran Khan cl...
The photo actually shows a Belgian F-16 fighter jet that was destroyed on the ground in 2018 when a mechanic working on a different jet nearby accidentally fired a Vulcan cannon at it:
The moment a Belgian mechanic accidentally destroys an F-16 fighter jet with cannon
A Belgian mechanic destroyed a multi-million pound fighter jet after he accidentally fired a Vulcan cannon while carrying out repairs at an air force base. The £15m plane quickly caught fired and exploded, according to Belgian broadcaster RTL. The mechanic was working with a colleague on two F-16s in a hangar near the control tower.
The website TheFauxy carries a satire disclaimer at the bottom of the page, it should not be confused for real news:
TheFauxy is a Satire Web Portal, earlier known as FaultNews. Content of this website is a work of fiction. Readers are advised not to confuse the articles of TheFauxy as genuine and true.
