Has Narendra Modi's election campaign benefited from the Pakistan-India brinkmanship? Opinion | K S Dakshina Murthy
On February 26 when the news broke of India’s unprecedented air strike on Balakot in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the nation was agog. The strike was in retaliation to a suicide attack claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammad at Pulwama on Valentine’s Day in Indian-administered Kashmir. The attack killed 40 security personnel, and the retaliation was viewed across the country as a fitting reply.
Six weeks after the strike, Pulwama and Balakot seem to have perceptibly receded from the front pages of newspapers and top news in television channels. One reason could be that while the action was daring and attempted to show that India was not a pushover, the strikes in themselves have been marred by controversy.
An irate government has attempted to douse the doubts by questioning the patriotic credentials of those asking for evidence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself in multiple speeches and conversations with select media has criticised the audacity of a section of Indians who are clamouring for proof.
Indian defence personnel produced parts of a missile which indicated that Pakistan had used its F-16 which went against its agreement of usage with the United States. As per the claimed agreement, the F-16s were meant for use only in counter-terrorism operations and not against India. For New Delhi that was hoping for full marks, these aberrations have dented the celebratory subtext to the Balakot strikes.
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