India confirms air strike on biggest Jaish Camp in Balakot, led by Masood Azhar's brother-in-law

Earlier this morning, the Cabinet Committee on Security met at the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian Air Force carried out air strikes in Pakistan. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were present at the meeting.

Foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale

New Delhi: India on Tuesday confirmed the elimination of large number of JeM terrorists in a pre-dawn aerial strike at Balakote region of Pakistan. Addressing a media briefing, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said India struck the biggest Jaish camp led by  Maulana Yusuf Azhar alias Ustad Ghauri, brother in law of JeM Chief Masood Azhar. Specifying details of the strike, Gokhale said “there was credible information was received that JeM was attempting other attacks in the country. A pre-emptive strike became important. India struck the biggest camp of JeM in Balakot.” He said the selection of the target was also conditioned by our desire to avoid civilian casualty, adding "non-military pre-emptive action was specifically targeted at the terrorist camp" which he said was located on a hill top far away from civilian areas. The foreign secretary made it clear that questions from the press would not be answered in today's briefing. India's strike comes twelve days after the deadly Pulwama attack. Agency reports say the pre-dawn strike has caused over 200 casualties. In Islamabad, the Pakistan Army alleged that the Indian Air Force violated the Line of Control (LoC) in Muzafarabad sector. Earlier this morning, the Cabinet Committee on Security met  at the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian Air Force carried out air strikes in Pakistan. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were present at the meeting. Full Statement by Foreign Secretary on 26 February 2019 on the Strike on JeM training camp at Balakot On 14 February 2019, a suicide terror attack was conducted by a Pak based terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammad, leading to the martyrdom of 40 brave jawans of the CRPF. JeM has been active in Pakistan for the last two decades, and is led by MASOOD AZHAR with its headquarters in Bahawalpur. This organization, which is proscribed by the UN, has been responsible of a series of terrorist attacks including on the Indian Parliament in December 2001 and the Pathankot airbase in January 2016. Information regarding the location of training camps in Pakistan and PoJK has been provided to Pakistan from time to time. Pakistan, however, denies their existence. The existence of such massive training facilities capable of training hundreds of jihadis could not have functioned without the knowledge of Pakistan authorities. India has been repeatedly urging Pakistan to take action against the JeM to prevent jihadis from being trained and armed inside Pakistan. Pakistan has taken no concrete actions to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil. Credible intelligence was received that JeM 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 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 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. The Government of India is firmly and resolutely committed to taking all necessary measures to fight the menace of terrorism. Hence this non-military preemptive action was specifically targeted at the JeM camp. The selection of the target was also conditioned by our desire to avoid civilian casualties. The facility is located in thick forest on a hilltop far away from any civilian presence. As the strike has taken place only a short while ago, we are awaiting further details. 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.