Updated
New Delhi/Islamabad, Feb 26 (IANS): Twelve days after a JeM suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF troopers, India on early Tuesday struck the Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp at Balakot killing "a very large number" of terrorists and their trainers. Within hours, Pakistan threatened a "befitting response".
While the Pakistani military claimed the area hit by India was close to the Line of Control (LoC), Reuters described Balakot as a town in a remote valley in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. There is also Balakote -- as different from Balakot -- in the Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
As celebrations erupted across India, Foreign Secretary Vijay K. Gokhale told the media that "in an intelligence-led operation in the early hours of today, India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jehadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated.
"This facility at Balakot was headed by Maulana Yusuf Azhar (alias Ustad Ghouri), the brother-in-law of (JeM leader) Masood Azhar."
Pakistan admitted that the IAF planes struck Balakot but claimed that they returned when it scrambled its war planes and that there were no losses on the ground.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the Indian jets were forced to return "owing to the timely response of the Pakistan Air Force" and warned that Islamabad has "the right to self-defence and (give) a befitting response".
Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said earlier that the Indian intrusion in Muzaffarabad sector happened within "AJK" (Azad Jammu Kashmir), 3-4 miles from the LoC that divides Kashmir between the two countries.
"Under forced hasty withdrawal the aircraft released payload which had free fall in an open area. No infrastructure got hit, no casualties," he said following an uproar in Pakistan about Indian jets flying deep into its territory.
Pakistan Prime Minister summoned a meeting in Islamabad to review the situation. In New Delhi, External Affairs Minister called an all-party meeting.
Gokhale said the Indian government was "firmly and resolutely committed to taking all necessary measures to fight the menace of terrorism. Hence, this non-military pre-emptive action was specifically targeted at the JeM camp.
"The selection of the target was also conditioned by our desire to avoid civilian casualties."
He said India had been providing to Islamabad the "location of terrorist training camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir" from time to time. But Pakistan keeps denying their existence.
Gokhale said that such "massive training facilities capable of training hundreds of jehadis could not have functioned without the knowledge of Pakistani authorities...
But Pakistan has taken no concrete action to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil, he added.
"Credible intelligence was received that the JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country (India), and the fidayeen jehadis were being trained for this purpose.
"In the face of this imminent danger, a pre-emptive strike became absolutely necessary."
The JeM, which is based in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the February 14 suicide bombing at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir which killed 40 CRPF troopers. It was the worst attack on security forces on a single day in Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier news
India strikes back : Modi chairs CCS, IAF on high alert
New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS): The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was underway on Tuesday in the wake of reports claimed by Islamabad that Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and returned after dropping a payload in Pakistan.
All the IAF bases were on high alert anticipating a reaction from Pakistan to the strikes carried out by the Indian fighter jets in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Balakot early on Tuesday.
Sources said that the IAF bases along the borders and inside are fully geared to deal with any eventuality. Air defence systems were activated to deal with any intruders along the International Border and the LoC.
The airborne radars were keeping a close vigil on the activities inside Pakistan, the sources added.
The CCS meeting was also attended by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and other government officials.
Though the Centre was yet to make an official statement, Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat tweeted that the IAF carried out aerial strikes across the LoC and destroyed terrorist camps.
Shekhawat is the first functionary of the government to confirm from the Indian side that the strikes have taken place.
Some of the prominent veterans, who retired recently, have already hailed the move.
"Air strikes by 12 Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft at terror camps in Balakot this morning. 1,000 kg precision bombs used. Pakistan accepts. See images below," tweeted retired Lt Gen Satish Dua, who served as chief of the integrated staff to the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee till November 2018.
Former Director General of Military Operations retired Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia said that India demonstrated political and military will by "apparently" employing the air strikes.
He added that there was a need to raise cost for Pakistan and the Pakistan Army to ensure they do not carry out terror attacks against India.
"Picture abhi baaki hai," he said.
The CCS meeting comes after the Director General of Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Asif Ghafoor confirmed in a tweet early Tuesday that the IAF planes dropped the payload near Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before leaving in haste as the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) scrambled its war planes.
The alleged incident took place in the Muzaffarabad sector, claimed Radio Pakistan.
Tuesday's development follows a suicide attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, on February 14 that killed 40 troopers.
The attack was claimed by Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and prompted a spike in tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
India strikes back : Air Force jets cross LoC , destroy terror camps with bombs
New Delhi, Feb 26 (Agencies) : 12 Mirage 2000 Indian Fighter jets struck terror camps across the LoC at 3:30 am on Tuesday, 26 February, and dropped 1,000 kg bombs destroying the camps, reported ANI quoting IAF sources.
However, Pakistan is reportedly denying any damage caused to life or property.
Earlier, Pakistan Armed Forces spokesperson, Major General Asif Ghafoor, on Twitter claimed "Indian Air Force violated the Line of Control. Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled. Indian aircraft gone back."
The alleged violation by IAF comes days after the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were martyred.
There was a huge blast heard near Balakot but the quantum of the damage has not been ascertained, according to reports
Pak alleges that the IAF released “payload” in haste on their way back
The last time IAF intentionally crossed border was in 1971.