'Plan to strike Pakistan after 26/11 Mumbai attacks was rejected'

New Delhi - India has two nuclear-armed nations in its neighbourhood: Ex-IAF chief.

Former chief of Indian Air Force (IAF) BS Dhanoa said that a proposal to strike Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks was rejected by the then government.
Dhanoa said that the Indian Air Force was aware about the terror camps in Pakistan and were ready to hit out. "But it is a political decision on whether or not to carry out a strike," he said.

He gave the statement while addressing students at the VJTI's annual festival, Technovanza.

Dhanoa, who was the air chief between December 31, 2016, and September 30, 2019, said that after the attack on Parliament in December 2001, the force had proposed action against Pakistan through air strikes but it was not accepted.

He also stressed that if peace were to come, Pakistan would lose several of its privileges. The former IAF chief emphasised that Islamabad would keep the Kashmir pot boiling without allowing it to boil over.

But he pointed out that the major challenge faced by India is the fact that it has two nuclear-armed nations in its neighbourhood.

On Balakot air strike, the former IAF chief stated that the air strike had created a shock effect in Pakistan. He claimed that there is a lack of joint planning among its defence forces.

He also stated that India had nuclear capability on land, and in the sea and in the air and China has developed a modern air force which relies on quality, not quantity.

• India
• Pakistan