IAF air strike: Digvijay Singh says Centre should provide evidence of Indian operation in Balakot
The Congress leader also praised Pakistan PM Imran Khan for releasing pilot Abhinandan, but asked him to hand over Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar to India.
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Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday said that the Centre should provide evidence of the Indian Air Force’s strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot on February 26. India struck the camp in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after a Jaish-e-Mohammad militant blew up 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Kashmir’s Pulwama on February 14.
“I am not questioning the recent IAF action against Pakistan-based terrorist camps,” Singh told reporters in Indore, according to PTI. “But pictures of any incident in open space can be accessed through satellite technology. So we should also give evidence, the way the United States government presented evidence of Osama bin Laden’s killing before the world.”
He also praised Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for releasing Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from custody. “I also congratulate the honourable Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan for showing us a new way of being a good neighbour and returned the brave Indian Air Force officer to us,” Singh said. “Now he should show courage by handing over [Lashkar-e-Taiba founder] Hafiz Saeed and [Jaish-e-Mohammad chief] Masood Azhar to us.”
The Congress leader said that leaders of Khan’s party, the Tehreek-i-Insaf, and the Inter-Services Intelligence wanted the Pakistani prime minister to “bargain” with India for releasing Abhinandan.
Singh also dismissed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that the Indian Air Force wanted to conduct surgical strikes in Pakistan after the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, but the Manmohan Singh-led Congress government had nixed the idea. “I can only say that we have not seen a bigger liar than Narendra Modi,” the Congress leader claimed.