IAF doesn't count casualties, govt will make statement on Balakot toll: Air Force chief Dhanoa

IAF chief B S Dhanoa on Monday declined to comment on the death toll in the Balakot strike, saying it was for the government to provide details on the number of terrorists killed and the Air Force only sees if a target has been hit or not.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan on February 27 and released on March 1, would fly a fighter jet if he was fit, Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa said.

"We don't take chances with the medical fitness of a pilot," he said at a press conference in his first comments since the February 26 attack on a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Paktunkhwa province.

The Air Force, he said, is not in a position to clarify many people were inside.

"We don't count human casualties. We count what targets we have hit or not hit," he said.

The bomb damage assessment that is done post a mission only calculates the target that has been hit or not hit, the air chief noted.

"We can't count how many people have died. That depends on how many people were there," Dhanoa said, adding that a statement on the number of terrorists killed will be made by the government.

Asked about reports suggesting that the bombs were dropped away from the target, he said, "Our report says otherwise."
Referring to Pakistan using F-16 aircraft in its offensive against India last week, Dhanoa said, "I don't know what is the end-user agreement between America and Pakistan. If the end-user agreement was that they will not use it for offensive purposes, then I think they have violated that end-user agreement."
In response to a question regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that Rafale jets would have a made a difference, he said, "Honourable Prime Minister has made the statement. I will not comment on that."