In a talk show on Saturday, finance minister Arun Jaitley said that the air strikes in Balakot have only exposed Pakistan’s nuclear bluff
New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday that India "exposed" Pakistan's nuclear bluff by carrying out airstrikes to eliminate Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camps in Balakot on February 26.
Jaitley said that India has fought several wars with Pakistan including 1965, 1971 and the Kargil war.
"Since then, Pakistan's army has realised that because of our huge economy and superior military strength, conventional wars cannot be won," he said.
Jaitley said the Pakistan army has selected two options to deceive India by fighting a proxy war with the help of terrorists and projecting a nuclear bluff.
"Since both the countries are armed with nuclear weapons, the nuclear bluff was their second option. But it has been exposed this time," Jaitley said.
The finance minister lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for changing the country's retaliatory stance against terrorism.
"Till now, Pakistan's policy was to send terrorists to carry out attacks, while our policy was to be defensive. Modi ji has brought a small change in that. While we will continue to defend, we will also attack the main sources of terrorism. The 2016 surgical strike was our first step, and the latest air strikes were the second," said Jaitley.
Jaitley also went on to say that the world extended support to India after the Indian Air Force carried out the attack on the Jaish terror camp in Balakot.
"Not only the US, the UK, Europe or Russia, even China released a neutral statement," he said.
Jaitley also slammed opposition parties who have been demanding evidence to prove how many terrorists were killed in the airstrike.
Jaitley said it was unfortunate that few political leaders from opposition parties were trying to politicise the issues and unknowingly becoming "witnesses for the Pakistan government".
He further attacked Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who was one of the persons who questioned whether the IAF airstrike in Balakot was a success.
Arun Jaitley further pointed out that news about the airstrike in Balakot was broken by its armed forces and not the civilian government.
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