Retired Indian General VK Singh, who now serves as Minister of State for External Affairs, told a Saturday press conference that if New Delhi ever considered Pakistan as a friend, it would become the country’s “biggest weakness”.
“I was informed about opposition candidates in the border areas of Rajasthan claiming that Pakistan was not a threat to India and hence it should not be treated as an enemy nation. But a country which has been triggering proxy wars against India besides being a terrorist hub can never be treated as a friend. Treating Pakistan as a friend will be the biggest weakness of India”, he said.
Addressing the claims that Indian strikes on an alleged terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot killed 250 terrorists, Singh said that the numbers were based on different reports, and were not the actual figures.
“According to the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), around 300 phones were active in the area at the time of the air strike. Assuming that 250 of the cellphone users were terrorists, we estimated that around 250 militants were killed”, Singh added.
The long-lasting conflict between the two nuclear arms wielding neighbours was exacerbated by a suicide bomb attack reportedly claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e Mohammad on 14 February that killed some 40 Indian troops.