Mehbooba Mufti Demands Proof of Air Strike Conducted in Pakistan’s Balakot After PM Modi Questions Opposition, Asks Why do They Demoralise Armed Forces

Mufti went on to add that the air strike did not help enemies but only put the government of India in a tight spot since they wanted to exploit this and reap electoral benefits.

Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday demanded proof of the airstrike conducted by Indian Air Force (IAF) in Balakot across Line of Control (LoC). Mufti questioned the government’s move and said citizens of the country have every right to question the credibility of the airstrike as the government is being ambiguous about the details.

Mufti went on to add that the air strike did not help enemies but only put the government of India in a tight spot since they wanted to exploit this and gain benefits ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Her reaction came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Opposition at his Sankalp Rally in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan and questioned as to why was the ‘Mahagathbandan’ is hell-bent on demoralising the Armed Forces.

“Earlier they used to ask for surgical strike evidence… Now they have started asking for evidence of air strike. Why do they want to discourage our armed forces?,” the Prime Minister asked while addressing the mega rally.

Stating that the country won’t forgive such people who are questioning and demanding proof of the air strike in Balakot, PM further said, “When our forces are handling situations at borders, what are some people inside our country doing? When there was a need to condemn terrorism together, then 21 parties came together to pass a resolution against us.”

Earlier, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had demanded proof of the air strike.

Indian Air Force (IAF) jets bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in the Balakot region of Pakistan in the wee hours of February 26 in retaliation to the Pulwama terror attack which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF jawans.

Pakistan tried to target various military installations inside India but the attack was foiled by IAF. During the retaliation, IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s MiG 21 crashed while chasing down Pakistan’s F-16 jet.   He ejected successfully but his parachute took him to the other side. He was held captive by Pakistan since Wednesday and was handed over to Indian authorities two days later.