Despite confirmation by IAF chief, Kapil Sibal questions Balakot airstrike

“It’s not over yet”, the Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa in his Coimbatore Base Repair Depot presser hinted that Balakot camp airstrike is only a beginning. When asked about the current situation at the border, Dhanoa said, “Operations are still ongoing, I will not comment on ongoing operations.”

He also slammed all IAF critics. When asked about clarity on the number of casualties caused by the airstrike conducted by IAF, Dhanoa said, “IAF is not in a postilion to clarify the number of casualties. The government will clarify that. We don’t count human casualties, we count what targets we have hit or not.”

He also added, “The target has been clearly amplified by FS in his statement. If we plan to hit the target, we hit the target, otherwise why would he (Pak PM) have responded, if we dropped bombs in the jungles why would he respond.”

The Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa made a valid point that Pakistan Imran Khan would have not responded at all if the bombs were dropped in the jungle. If the targets were missed, Imran would have employed all the propaganda machinery to ridicule India and IAF worldwide.

The Air Chief Marshal’s words are enough to believe the claims made by Indian authorities about the airstrike. No further investigation is needed. India trusts its armed forces more than any media organization. But same is not the case with the Congress party. It seems that its leaders trust foreign media houses more than Indian authorities.

The senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal in his latest tweet decided to politicize the airstrike conducted by IAF. He said that PM Modi is “guilty of politicising terror”. In his tweet, Sibal also asked- Is international media reporting no proof of terrorists’ death in the Balakot air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp?

According to a Times Now report, Kapil Sibal further asked PM Modi if international media was a supporter of Pakistan? He said, “PM must speak on reports by international media that say hardly anyone died there (in air strike in Balakot). I want to ask PM, ‘Is international media in support of Pakistan?’ Sibal also added, “When international media speaks against Pakistan, you feel elated. When they ask questions, it’s asking because it supports Pak?”

It seems that Kapil Sibal trusts International media more than armed forces. In a joint press brief, the three wings of the Indian armed forces – Army, Air Force, and Navy struck hard on Pakistan and their barrage of lies. On being asked about the number of casualties Pakistan suffered in the air strikes, Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor replied nonchalantly, “We have evidence to show that whatever we wanted to do and targets we wanted to destroy, we have done that. Decision to show the evidence is on senior leadership.”

It seems that the press conference by the armed forces is not enough for the Kapil Sibal. He relies on international media for the proofs but doesn’t believe our armed forces. PM Modi had rightly said that Opposition is undermining our forces.

Also read: How Congress governments undermined the Indian Air Force