Amidst Balakot claims, IAF chief offers clarity

Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, the Chief of Air Staff, made a categorical statement at a press conference in Coimbatore on Monday which has the effect of puncturing any claim by any quarters whatsoever about the number of Jaish-e-Mohammed cadres killed as a result of the airstrike carried out by IAF fighter jets at the Jaish facility at Balakot in Pakistan on February 26.

The BJP as a party, as well as leading lights of the current government had strenuously tried to promote the idea of having avenged the deaths of 40-plus CRPF jawans in the Pulwama attack on their convoy — for which the JeM claimed responsibility — by taking out a large number of JeM terrorists at Balakot.

Immediately after the February 26 pre-dawn attack, television news channels filled the airwaves with the claim of around 300 terrorists dead. Some raised the figure to 350, while some others cautiously put out 250. Any of these is several times the number of the CRPF men who had died at Pulwama, and that fact could be shown as highlighting the “parakram”, or valour, of the present leadership.

For the ruling side, the idea of revenge — an eye for an eye — seemed crucial as a vote-mobilising technique when the Lok Sabha election is possibly just weeks away. The TV journalists didn’t dream up a number. It is evident that some source high up in the government fed the figure on a non-attributable basis to all the channels in order to promote the electoral prospects of the ruling party.

The journalists grievously erred in accepting at face value the casualties’ data fed to them, and were guilty of violating the first principle of journalism. According to that basic rule, if a claim can’t be verified the source must be named, and especially so in a fraught political atmosphere.

Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa’s observation doesn’t have the imprimatur of the government. It’s not India’s “official” position. And yet, its authoritative status can hardly be challenged.

When asked repeatedly how many terrorists had perished at Balakot, the Air Chief said that was for the government to state. He added that it was the job of the Air Force to deliver the payload over the designated target and not count the dead. He also noted that the numbers killed would depend on the numbers present.

This raises questions about the figure of 250 given out at a public meeting in Ahmedabad by BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday. No leader of the government has publicly stated any specific figure. No figure has been put out officially. So where does Mr Shah’s information come from? Has he just cooked it up and is engaging in false propaganda, or is he peddling official secrets without having the authority to do so?