No casualties in Balakot strike, admits India

No casualties in Balakot strike, admits India

Mumbai (Web Desk): Indian Union Minister Surinder Singh Ahluwalia on Sunday conceded that there were no casualties in the Balakot strike.

“The air strikes by India were just a warning,” said Ahluwalia in an interview with an Indian TV channel.

“Neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor any government spokesperson had given any figure on casualty of air strikes,” said Ahluwalia. “Rather, it was the Indian media and social media where the unconfirmed figures of terrorists killed were being calculated.”

Earlier, a senior leader of the Indian National Congress Digvijaya Singh said that he had not seen a bigger liar than Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I can only say that we have not seen a bigger liar than Narendra Modi," the politician said.

Speaking to reporters, Digvijaya Singh demanded the Modi government to present evidence of the Indian Air Force's “air strike” on alleged terrorist camps in Balakot, Pakistan.

"I am not questioning the recent IAF action against Pakistan-based terrorist camps. But pictures of any incident in open space can be accessed through satellite technology. So we should also give evidence, the way the United States government presented evidence of Osama bin Laden's killing before the world," NDTV quoted him as saying.

Singh also congratulated Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for releasing IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

"I also congratulate the honourable Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan for showing us a new way of being a good neighbour and returning the brave Indian Air Force officer to us," the Congress leader said.

He also refuted Modi's claim that after the 26/11 Mumbai attack, the Indian Air Force wanted to conduct a “surgical strike” against Pakistan, but the Congress-led UPA government nixed the idea.