The India government on Tuesday said that a “very large number of Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists” had been killed in a “non-military, pre-emptive strike” at a pre-dawn strike across the Line Of Control.
Foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale at a press conference said this morning that it was specifically targeted at the Jaish-e-Mohammed camp. He also clarified that the strike had been planned in a way that would “avoid civilian casualties”. He said there was information that the JeM was planning another suicide attack.
Gokhale said that the Jaish-e-Mohammed had been active in Pakistan for the last two decades, led by Masood Azhar with its headquarters in Bahawalpur.
“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 jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen attacks were eliminated. This facility at Balakot was headed by Maulana Yousouf Azhar, also known as Ustad Ghouri, the brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar,” he said at the press conference.
The foreign secretary added that “credible intelligence was received that JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country”, and that fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose. “In the face of imminent danger, a pre-emptive strike became absolutely necessary,” he said.
He also mentioned the commitment made by Pakistan to not allow its soil to be used for terrorism against India. “The Government of Pakistan had made a solemn commitment in January 2004 not to allow its soil or territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India. We expect that Pakistan lives up to its public commitment and takes follow up actions to dismantle all JeM and other camps and hold the terrorists accountable for the actions,” he said.
