Pakistan Tuesday summoned top Indian diplomat and lodged with him a strong protest over Indian violation of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, Foreign Office said. According to Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal, Indian acting high commissioner was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by acting Foreign Secretary Shah M Jamal.
He said that the acting foreign secretary strongly condemned the Indian violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity when at approximately 0254 hours Tuesday, eight Indian aircraft were effectively intercepted by Pakistani Air Force jets and forced to scuttle back, while randomly releasing their ordnance which landed in an uninhabited remote area.
The spokesperson stated that reprehensible Indian claims of targeting a large terrorist camp and resultant causalities to placate Indian domestic audience and electioneering were strongly rebutted.
"The acting foreign secretary categorically stated that Indian aggression was a threat to regional peace and stability and would get a befitting response by Pakistan at a time and place of its choosing," he said.
The acting foreign secretary also condemned the baseless Indian allegations against Pakistan's involvement in the recent attack in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir and reiterated Pakistan's principled position of continuing support to the peaceful political struggle of the Kashmiri people for realisation of the right to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Security Council Resolutions.
Earlier, Indian External Affairs Ministry at briefing in New Delhi claimed that "credible intelligence" was received that JeM [Jaish-e-Mohammad] was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country, and the fidayeen/jihadis were being trained for this purpose.
"In the face of imminent danger, a preemptive strike became absolutely necessary. In an intelligence-led operation in the early hours of Tuesday, India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot," claimed the ministry's spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.
"In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated. This facility at Balakot was headed by Maulana Yousuf Azhar (alias Ustad Ghouri), the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar, Chief of JeM," Kumar further claimed. However, Pakistan's Foreign Office and the Pakistan military rubbished the Indian claims as baseless.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

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