Were 300 terrorists killed in the IAF air strikes in Balakot?
Here’s what IAF has to say.
New Delhi: As soon as the news of IAF’s airstrike on Jaish’s training camps across the border in Balakot went viral, media channels hurried and immediately concluded that over 300 terrorists were killed in the air strikes.
Various media channels citing their respective ‘sources’ went on to claim several figures and number claiming it to be the number of terrorists and trainees who were killed in the air strikes.
It started with 200 and went on up to 400 as hours passed by after the strikes. Many channels also reported that IAF ‘eliminated’ Maulana Yousuf Azhar, who is the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar, chief of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed.
No official data or military sources were quoted all this while by any news channel.
However, according to a report published in News Laundry on Thursday, during the joint press conference of Indian Armed Forces, which had Army’s Major General Surindar Singh Mehal, Navy’s Rear Admiral Dalbir Singh Gujral and Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor of IAF, the officials refused to confirm the exact number of terrorists killed in the strikes.
According to the report, Ajit Dubey of ANI enquired about the number of terrorists killed. To which RGK Kapoor termed it ‘premature’ to give an exact figure.
“There is fairly credible evidence with us which proves that there was damage to the camps. The weapons hit the intended target and they caused the damage that was intended. However, it will be premature to say what is the number of causalities we have been able to inflict on those camps and what is the number of death” RGK Kapoor was quoted as saying.
This statement from the official ‘source’ has now raised questioned about the credibility of ‘sources’ of news channels and has also pitched the question of ‘where did the figure of 300-400 came from’?
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
