Balakot airstrike exposed: Indian air chief 'uncertain' about '300 casualties'

The lies of Indian media and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government were exposed as Indian Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa refused to endorse the figure of ‘300 casualties’ during Balakot airstrike last week. 

Indian media and government officials had claimed that 300 alleged terrorists were killed in the so-called airstrikes in Balakot sector on February 26. Nevertheless, when the Indian air chief was asked to provide a number of deaths, he said the Indian Air Force (IAF) “can’t count how many people died”.

“We can’t count how many people have died, it is not our job to count bodies. It depends on how many people were there,” Dhanoa said while addressing a press conference.

“[Indian] Air Force is not in a position to clarify how many people were inside. We don’t count human casualties. We count what targets we have hit or not hit.”

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Since the IAF’s failed airstrikes on Pakistani territory, India has been claiming to kill around 300 suspected terrorists in the attack. The hollow claims from Indian officials have been categorically dismissed by Pakistan along with evidence, while the entire world has also been questioning India’s statements regarding casualties.

In the wee hours of Feb 26, Indian fighter jets intruded the Line of Control (LoC) near Muzaffarabad sector, however they scrambled back and released their payload in haste while escaping Pakistani airspace owing to the timely response of Pakistan Air Force.