ISLAMABAD – Retired Indian General VK Singh, who now serves as Ministerof State for External Affairs, told a press conference that if New Delhiever considered Pakistan as a friend, it would become the country’s“biggest weakness”.

“I was informed about opposition candidates in the border areasof Rajasthan claiming that Pakistan was not a threat to India and hence itshould not be treated as an enemy nation. But a country which has beentriggering proxy wars against India besides being a terrorist hub can neverbe treated as a friend. Treating Pakistan as a friend will be the biggestweakness of India”, he said.

Addressing the claims that Indian strikes on an alleged terror camp inBalakot killed 250 terrorists, Singh said that the numbers were basedon 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 thataround 250 militants were killed”, Singh added.

The long-lasting conflict between the two nuclear arms wielding neighbourswas exacerbated by a suicide bomb attack reportedly claimed by Jaish-eMohammad on 14 February that killed some 40 Indian troops.

New Delhi accused Islamabad of providing a safe haven for terrorists andstruck back by carrying out an air raid on a suspected terror camp in AzadKashmir on 26 February that allegedly killed hundreds of terrorists anddestroyed a number of facilities.

Pakistan, for its part, has disputed these claims, insisting that theIndian aircraft didn’t target any terrorist infrastructure.

On the next day after the strikes, Pakistan claimed it had downed twoIndian warplanes over the Line of Control (LoC) and captured an Indianpilot, who was released later. New Delhi confirmed the detention of thepilot, as well as the loss of only one aircraft. – Sputnik