Ex-US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has revealed in his book that India and Pakistan were close to engaging in a nuclear war in 2019’s Balakot incident when Pakistan captured Indian Wing Commander, Abhinandan, and released him to de-escalate the worsening situation.
In his book “Never Give an Inch,” the former US Secretary of State stated that people have no idea how close both countries were to a full-fledged nuclear war.
During the Balakot incident, Pompeo, as he writes, was in Hanoi for a conference between then-US President, Donald Trump and North Korea’s Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un, when he got a call from an Indian official telling him that Pakistan had begun readying its nuclear arms.
Pompeo further claimed that US diplomats de-escalated the situation by stopping both countries and added in his book that he talked to the “actual leader of Pakistan,” then Army Chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, to diffuse the looming crisis.
In February 2019, India illegally entered Pakistan’s airspace and launched airstrikes on an empty piece of land in Balakot claiming that it killed many terrorists. However, it only managed to tear down some trees.
In retaliation, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down two Indian warplanes and detained one of the Indian pilots, Abhinandan, and later returned him to his home country for the sake of promoting peace in the region.
