Soldiers’ families call for ‘decisive proof’, ask to be shown ‘terrorist bodies’ from Balakot strike: Report

The families of two slain soldiers from Uttar Pradesh – who died in the Pulwama terror attack which claimed the lives of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans – have asked for “decisive proof” of the death of terrorists in Pakistan’s Balakot as a result of the air strikes conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF), it was reported by NDTV.

The families of the slain jawans – Pradeep Kumar from Shamli and Ram Vakeel from Mainpuri – have called for proof. The demand to go on record on the impact of the air strikes in Balakot has been already raised by the Opposition parties.

Ram Raksha, sister of Ram Vakeel stated to the media that “there should be clear proof”. She further added that in Pulwama, the sight of “someone’s hands, someone’s limbs” was there for all to see.

Pointing out that Pakistan has claimed that there was “no damage” incurred by them, Ram Raksha questioned how it was possible to “accept” where the air strikes took place until there is “proof”. Unless the sight of proof emerges that her “brother’s killing has been avenged”, her family will not attain peace, she said, it was reported.

Sulelata, 80-year old mother of Pradeep Kumar also stated that she was “not satisfied”. Lamenting that “so many sons died” and yet there were “no dead bodies on the other side”, she said that there was “no confirmed news”.

The government has not shared any official count of the number of casualties in the Balakot air strike and attacked the Opposition for seeking “proof”.

Calling it a move to discredit the armed forces, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre has refused to clear the air which is being viewed by the Opposition as an attempt to propagate vote-bank politics in the name of nationalism ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP president Amit Shah was heard speaking at a political rally in Ahmedabad after the Balakot air strike where he pinned the number of casualties at “over 250”.

He attributed the perceived victory at Balakot to PM Narendra Modi’s leadership and the presence of the BJP government at the Centre as opposed to a Congress-led UPA government.

The official version as shared by the foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale on February 26 noted that “very large number of Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists” had been killed in a “non-military, pre-emptive strike’. The Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa has maintained that the IAF “cannot count how many people died” at Balakot. It would depend upon the “number of people present”, he stated while answering the media recently.