Balakot air strike was not a military action, says Nirmala Sitharaman

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the Government of India’s position on the number of terrorists killed at Balakot in the IAF strike was the same as the one provided by the Foreign Secretary in his statement which “didn’t give a figure”.

BJP president Amit Shah had claimed that 250 terrorists were killed, while Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology S.S. Ahluwalia claimed the attack on Balakot was only to deliver a warning and that the government did not want any human casualty.

Responding to a specific question on these claims, Ms. Sitharaman said, “The Foreign Secretary didn’t give a figure. He gave a statement. That is the Government of India’s position”.

Asked if the government would release satellite imagery of the strike area, the Defence Minister said, “Well, I can’t say it now.”

Hinting that India had run out of patience against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism after 40 CRPF jawans were killed in a terror attack at Pulwama, Ms. Sitharaman said India went in for a “pointed hit” after coming to know that terror attacks were being planned from



there. “We ensured no civilian there was affected in the attack,” she said.

The Defence Minister said the attack on Balakot was “not a military action”. “We, including the previous governments, have been constantly saying that terrorism is emanating from Pakistan. This has been going on for a long time. These terrorists are coming from Pakistan to attack us. Not only us, the UPA government too had been giving proof to Pakistan on terror training camps in Pakistan and that we should not come under attack from them.”

Despite that, Pakistan has been claiming at the global level that they too are victims of terror, Ms. Sitharaman said adding that Pakistan has not dismantled any terror camp.

“When the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks took place, proof of the involvement of Pakistani handlers was given to the Pakistan government. They have not brought them to justice before the Courts unlike India. We took these terrorists through a proper legal process step-by-step and punished those who attacked our country. Pakistan has never punished any terrorists through its courts,” she said.