People murmuring whether airstrike had political purpose: Pawar

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said there were "murmurs" of doubt among people on whether the post-Pulwama attack airstrike on February 26 on a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Pakistan had a "political purpose".

In an interview to PTI, the Maratha strongman said cross-border surgical strikes took place every year, adding that had he been the defence minister now, he would not have milked the issue for political benefits, but would only have worked in the interest of the nation.

Pawar said being a former defence minister, he was aware of the capabilities of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, adding that no one could challenge their might.

"However, this government has lost credibility in the eyes of the public at large. That is why there are murmurs among the people whether it (the airstrike after the February 14 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama) was for a political purpose or not, whether certain actions were taken just to regain credibility," he claimed.

"Such surgical attacks have happened many times. Every year there is something at the India-Pakistan border. If something happens from their side, our forces respond effectively. It has not just happened once or twice, but so many instances," he said.

Stating that he would not have made noise immediately after such a military action to show the world how strong his forces were, Pawar said, "I would have kept mum and taught a lesson to anyone trying to create a problem for my nation. However, my approach would not have been for political exploitation, but only to protect the interest of the nation."