‘India, Pak were on brink of war after Mumbai 26/11 attack’

Sabre-rattling after the 26/11 attacks, Pakistan had deployed close to 400 fighter aircraft along the Indian border, a top air marshal said. Air Marshal P K Barbora, who takes over as the IAF Vice Chief on Monday, told HT that Pakistan feared that India would take punitive action after the Mumbai terror strike, reports Rahul Singh.

Sabre-rattling after the 26/11 attacks, the Pakistan Air Force had deployed close to 400 fighter aircraft along the Indian border, a top air marshal said on Sunday.

HT Image

Air Marshal P.K. Barbora, who takes over as the Indian Air Force (IAF) vice chief on Monday, told HT that Pakistan feared that India would take punitive action after the Mumbai terror strike.

Barbora, chief of IAF’s Western Air Command, said: “Their deployment peaked at 75 per cent after 26/11. The actions …were indicative of a very high reactive force. It was expecting us to strike.”

The fighter bases of the Western Air Command were in a state of high alert and capable of launching a fighter jet in two minutes. Also, the IAF had deployed its MiG-29 fighters at the Hindon air base after 26/11.

“We exercised restraint and did not give them any excuse for a misadventure,” Barbora said.