Former Pak diplomat admits 300 terrorists killed in IAF's Balakot strike

A former Pakistani diplomat has admitted that at least 300 terrorists were killed in the airstrike carried out by the Indian Air Force in Balakot on February 26, 2019. The admission of Zafar Hilaly during a television debate has come in contrast to Islamabad's claim of zero causality in the strike.

The IAF fighter jets bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot on February 26, nearly two weeks after the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were martyred.  The JeM had claimed responsibility of the terror attack.

"India crossed the international border and did an act of war in which at least 300 were reported dead,” Hilaly said while speaking on a Pakistani Urdu channel.

“Our target was different from theirs. We targeted their high command. That was our legitimate target because they are men of the military. We subconsciously accepted that a surgical strike—a limited action—did not result in any casualty. Now we have subconsciously told them that, whatever they will do, we'll do only that much and won't escalate," he further said.

Soon after India's air strike, Pakistan had denied the presence of terrorists in Balakot and claimed zero casualty in the IAF operation.

In October 2020, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq revealed that Pakistan had released IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman for fear of an attack from India. According to him, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said in an important meeting that if Varthaman was not released, India would attack Pakistan “at 9 PM that night” and “for God's sake we should let him go”.

Varthaman was captured by the Pakistani Army on February 27 after his MiG-21 Bison jet was shot down in a dogfight with Pakistani jets during an aerial combat.

Before his jet was hit, Varthaman downed an F-16 fighter of Pakistan. He was released by Pakistan on the night of March 1.