New Delhi: Air Chief Marshall Birender Singh Dhanoa said in a press meet on Monday that it is the Government’s duty to keep a count of casualties while the Indian Air Force (IAF) keeps its eye on the target set.
The Government and the IAF had been questioned regarding the airstrike conducted on February 26 at the Jaish e Mohammad terror camps in Balakot in Pakistan.
“We can’t count how many people have died. It depends on how many people were there,” the Air Chief said, addressing a press conference.
“The Air Force is not in a position to count casualties.”
There has been a political uproar regarding the release of details relating to the Balakot air strike in which at least 12 Mirage 2000 jets took part in the attack and dropped around 1000 kgs of bombs on the terrorist camps across LoC. Later on February 27 as PAF violated Indian air space, IAF’s upgraded MiG 21 Bison chased and gunned down Pakistan’s F16. It also ended in a MiG getting crashed in PoK and Wing Commander Abhinandan Vartaman being held by Pakistan Army. He was later released on March 1 and is undergoing a complete health checkup followed by a debriefing.
Also Read: Timeline Of Recent Indo-Pak Face-Off
The Narendra Modi-led government had declared the Balakot air strike as successful but was questioned by the Congress-led opposition. On the day of the strike, a figure of 300 casualties was doing rounds but there has been no official confirmation of the number.
Pakistan had also tried to downplay the attack and the Air Chief Marshall was asked what the targets were for the IAF. He said, “The target has been clearly amplified by the Foreign Secretary in his statement and if we planned to hit the target, we hit the target… otherwise why would they (Pakistan) have responded? If we had dropped bombs in the jungle there would be no need to respond,” he said, officially dismissing allegations that the strike had missed the target.”
He stressed that MiG 21 Bison was an upgraded version of the older MiG 21. The newer models have a better weapons system and better radar.
On Abhinandan Varthaman, the Air Chief said: “It depends on when he completes his medical recovery. If he is immediately fit, he will go back (to the cockpit). It takes a lot of toll in your body (ejection). We don’t take a chance with the fitness of a fighter pilot. When we select people, it (criteria) is high. The curvature of the spine should be correct.”
Also Read: Anti-Terrorism Operation Continues For 3rd Day, 5 Jawans Martyred
Kalinga AI