Bengaluru: The non-availability of images of the damage caused by the Balakot air strike became a big issue, said IAF Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh on Saturday. IAF Chief Marshal in his address at the 16th Air Chief Marshal L M Katre Memorial Lecture at Bengaluru said that IAF shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and a large aircraft during Operation Sindoor.

People could not be convinced about what was achieved, but during Operation Sindoor the Ghost of Balakot was taken care of. Operation Sindoor is the largest-ever recorded surface-to-air kill by India. He provided a detailed account of Operation Sindoor with visuals and slides.

When we did Balakot, we did something similar to Operation Sindoor, and added that there were no images available, and it became a big issue. Unfortunately, we couldn’t tell our own people as to what we have been able to achieve. We had intelligence that there had been huge damage; there were so many terrorists who were neutralized, but we could not convince our own people. But (this time) we were lucky, and we got these videos out in the open, he said.