India conducted a major pre-emptive strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed’s biggest camp early Tuesday to prevent suicide attacks being planned by the Pakistan-based terror group, killing a large number of terrorists and trainers, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said.
He said credible intelligence was received that the JeM was planning to carry out other suicide attacks in India after the Pulwama bombing on a CRPF convoy 12 days ago that killed 40 jawans. “India conducted non-military pre-emptive strikes on the biggest JeM terror camp,” Gokhale said.
A large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and group of jehadis were eliminated in the operation, the Foreign Secretary told the media, hours after news broke out that IAF Mirage aircraft were deployed to unleash a wave of bombings on terror camps. In the face of imminent danger, a preventive strike became “absolutely necessary”, he said, adding that India is firmly committed towards taking all measures to fight terrorism.
India, Gokhale said, expects Pakistan to dismantle all terror camps, including those of the JeM.
For details:India carries out 'non-military pre-emptive' attacks on terror camps in Pakistan
Hours later, Prime Minister Modi chaired a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which was attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Sitharaman.
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In Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called an “emergency meeting” at the Foreign Office for consultations, sources said. Qureshi will meet Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan after the meeting in which he will discuss the security situation with high-level officials, they said.
In an early morning tweet, Major General Asif Ghafoor, director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said Indian aircrafts intruded from the Muzaffarabad sector.
“Indian Air Force violated Line of Control (LoC) Pakistan. Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled. Indian aircraft gone back,” he claimed.
India had put all IAF bases in the western sector on maximum alert after the Pulwama attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed. After the Pulwama attack, Modi announced that the armed forces have been given full freedom to respond to the strike.
Hours after the strike, the Indian Army tweeted a Hindi poem which says that “if you are docile and polite before the enemy, he may consider you as a coward, the way Kauravas treated Pandavas“.
The poem by Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh ‘Dinkar’ was tweeted by Additional Director General, Public Information on its official handle.
Peace overtures, the poem says, are possible only when you are in a powerful position and capable to win.