Farooq Abdullah, chairman of National Conference party (NC), on Monday, criticised the Centre and said, keeping in mind the LS polls “airstrike was done."
“We always knew that there would be a fight or a skirmish with Pakistan. This surgical strike (airstrike) was done as elections are approaching. We lost an aircraft worth crore. Be thankful that the pilot (IAF) survived & returned from Pakistan with respect,” ANI quoted Abdullah as saying.
The Balakot airstrike in Pakistan occurred on 26 February. 12 Mirage jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir to perform an airstrike on a terrorist training camp inside Pakistan. The airstrike was a retaliation for an attack on CRPF forces, which took place two weeks prior. 40 personnel died as a result of the terrorist strike.
The Centre stated that it was a "pre-emptive non-military air strike based on credible intelligence" that another attack on the country was planned by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
