New Delhi [India], August 9 : After Indian Air Force Chief's remarks that the Indian Armed Forces had destroyed at least five Pakistani fighter aircraft, Aam Aadmi Party Delhi President Saurabh Bharadwaj on Saturday hit out at the Central government, saying that India was winning the conflict and the government should disclose the pressure under which ceasefire was agreed.
The AAP leader sought clarification over the 'ceasefire" agreement even after being in a winning position.
"...IAF chief said that 5 Pakistani Jets were shot down. We were winning the war... The central government should disclose the pressure under which they agreed to a ceasefire. This was the best chance to bring back PoK. I thank the Air Chief Marshal for revealing the truth. Why was the government hiding this?" Bharadwaj said.
The remarks came after Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said that the Indian Armed Forces had destroyed at least five Pakistani fighter aircraft and one large aircraft during Operation Sindoor.
"We have at least five fighters with confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT aircraft or an AEW&C aircraft, which was taken on at a distance of about 300 kilometres. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about," Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said.
He also credited the "political will" of the Central government for the success of Operation Sindoor that allowed the Indian Armed Forces (IAF) to conduct the operations without any constraints.
"A key reason for success was the presence of political will. There was very clear political will and very clear direction given to us. No restrictions were put on us... If there were any constraints, they were self-made. The forces decided what the rules of engagement would be. We decided how we wanted to control the escalation. "We had full freedom to plan and execute," Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. The Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and airfields across 11 airbases, including Nur Khan airbase in Pakistan.