IAF struck at biggest JeM camp, says foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale

New Delhi: Hours after the Indian Air Force conducted air strikes against terror launch pads in Pakistan, India’s foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale stated that “pre-emptive” strikes had been carried out against the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) to curtail any possible strikes by the terror outfit against India in future.

“Credible information was received that the Jaish was planning more terror attacks in the country and fidayeen attackers were being trained and a pre-emptive strike became necessary. In an intelligence-based operation, India struck at the biggest Jaish training camp at Balakot and a large number of Jaish terrorists and training commanders were eliminated. The facility was headed by the brother-in-law of Maulana Masood Azhar, Maulana Yousuf Azhar, alias Ustab Ghauri,” Gokhale said.

While confirming that no civilian casualty had been incurred, Gokhale added that the “Jaish has been active in Pakistan for the last two decades and led by Masood Azhar. The locations of training camps have been provided from time to time, but Pakistan denied their existence and these camps could not have functioned without the knowledge of Pakistan authorities.”

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