India has similar capabilities: IAF Vice Chief on nuclear threat from Islamabad

Pakistan can keep talking about nuclear retaliation and its capability, India also possesses a similar capability, Vice Chief of Indian Air Force, Air Marshal HS Arora said on Friday.

"Pakistan can keep talking about nuclear retaliation and its capability. We also possess a similar capability," IAF Vice Chief told ANI while responding to a question on Pakistan often raking up the issue.

While India has a 'No First Use' policy with regards to nuclear weapons, Pakistan has no such policy. India too has indicated of late that the policy is open to review.

"As far as their (Pakistan's) terror factories are concerned, they are no longer safe anywhere across the border. We have the will, capability and the political support to go across and strike them at their roots," Arora said.

Last year, the IAF had carried out an airstrike in Pakistan's Balakot, targetting Jaish-e-Mohammad's (JeM) terror training camps. The airstrike came in the wake of a deadly terror attack on February 14 in Jammu and KAshmir's Pulwama, killing 40 CRPF personnel.

Earlier today, IAF Chief RKS Bhadauria said that the force could have deployed twice the number of warplanes and launched more weapons during the Balakot airstrike, but chose to not do so in order to minimise collateral damage.

"The air force could have struck Balakot with twice the number of warplanes and launched four times the weapons but did not do that to ensure there was no collateral damage," the IAF chief said at the Centre for Air Power Studies seminar here.