'Pak upped air force at LoC post 26/11'

New Delhi, May 31: A top Indian Air Force commander said that Pakistan had mobilised 75 percent of its air force resources to the Line of Control (LoC) against India after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. Western Air Command (WAC) chief Air Marshal P K Barbora said to scribes at the WAC headquarters, "Pakistan had mobilised 75 percent of its air force against us after 26/11. Maybe because they were afraid of us."

The outgoing commander of the WAC also said that after the Mumbai attacks, India also beefed up its operations in the Jammu and Kashmir region. "As our response we had started night operations of transport aircraft from Udhampur (air base in Jammu and Kashmir) and the main thrust was on night operations," Barbora added. He handed over charge as the chief of the Western Air Command, the largest operational command of the IAF.

Barbora will be taking over as IAF's vice Chief on Monday, Jun 1. During his tenure, the IAF for the first time operated its frontline combat jets Sukhoi Su-30MKI from Leh of Jammu and Kashmir. The move was seen as IAF's strategy to counterbalance Chinese infrastructure advancement in the region.

OneIndia News