IAF air strike Highlights: US asks Pakistan to act against terrorist groups operating on its soil

The BSE Sensex was down by over 200 points in afternoon trade Wednesday on widespread selling after Pakistani fighter jets violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir, according to news agency PTI. 

After dropping 238 points, the Sensex was trading 161.74 points, or 0.46 per cent, down at 35,811.97 after hitting a low of 35,735.33. The gauge rallied nearly 400 points in morning trade.

The 50-share Nifty also fell 62.55 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 10,772.75.

According to PTI, investor sentiment took a beating after Pakistan claimed that it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani air space and arrested one of the pilots.

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement claiming they undertook airstrikes across the LoC from Pakistani airspace. "Sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We do not wish to escalate but are fully prepared if forced into that paradigm," MoFA spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal tweeted.

SSP Budgam tells news agency ANI that they have recovered two bodies from the chopper crash in Budgam but he isn't in a position to ascertain anything. "Technical team is here, they'll ascertain facts. We have found two bodies so far and have evacuated them. Search is going on here," he said. 

Read more about the crash here

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval arrives at the Home Ministry in Delhi. 

A day after India struck a terror camp in Balakot, Pakistan Wednesday violated Indian air space in the Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district and in Poonch, but were pushed back by Indian aircraft, news agency PTI reported. There has been no official confirmation as yet. "The jets entered into Indian air space over Nowshera sector this morning,” an official told PTI. They were immediately pushed back by Indian jets on air patrol. Read More

The expectation of the Pakistani establishment that the Jaish-e-Mohammed’s headquarters in Bahawalpur would be the obvious target of the Indian retaliation for the Pulwama terrorist attack, led to a large number of Jaish cadre being “congregated” at the organisation’s main training centre in Balakot, top security officials have told The Indian Express. Read More

The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp in Balakot, destroyed by the Indian Air Force on Tuesday, was located on the banks of the Kunhar river in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and have also been used by the Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs said. The camp offered the possibility of aquatic training to terrorists and housed hundreds of operatives, sources said. It was an important training centre for the JeM and other terror organisations and it had several structures to accommodate trainees and facilities to train them. Read More

Two Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists were killed in an encounter in Shopian on Wednesday. Arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of the encounter, officials told The Indian Express.

First, Tuesday’s airstrikes by the Indian Air Force establishes a new threshold between the two nuclear neighbours for an Indian response to a terror attack. So far, India has either chosen to put diplomatic pressure on Pakistan (after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack), mobilise its armed forces (after the 2001 Parliament attack) or conducted limited ground-based operations (after the 2016 Uri attack) but has never used the Air Force, that too inside Pakistan. Read More

The United States Wednesday urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid military action as tension escalated between the neighbours after India launched a “pre-emptive non-military strike” at a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp on Pakistani soil Tuesday. In a statement, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “Following Indian counter-terrorism actions on February 26, I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs (Sushma) Swaraj to emphasise our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region. I also spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil.” Read More

A day after India conducted air strikes in Pakistan’s Balakot, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Wednesday said the objective was to act against a terror camp and that India doesn’t wish to see a further escalation. In her opening remarks during her bilateral meeting with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Swaraj said after Pakistan “refused to acknowledge and act against terror camps, the Indian government decided to take preemptive action.” Read More

Five Pakistani posts were destroyed as the Indian Army retaliated to unprovoked cross border heavy shelling and firing of missiles late Tuesday night. Defence Ministry Spokesperson Lt Colonel Devender Anand said the firing resulted in several casualties on the Pakistani side. Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by “shelling with heavy calibre weapons at 12 to 15 places along the Line of Control” from 6.30 pm onwards. Pakistani troops were also seen “firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses using villagers as human shields”, Lt Col Anand added. Read More

The expectation of the Pakistani establishment that the Jaish-e-Mohammed’s headquarters in Bahawalpur would be the obvious target of the Indian retaliation for the Pulwama terrorist attack, led to a large number of Jaish cadre being “congregated” at the organisation’s main training centre in Balakot, top security officials have told The Indian Express. Read More

While the Indian Air Force was deployed during the 1999 Kargil conflict, Tuesday was the first time after the 1971 war that it fired on targets inside Pakistan. Although the entire operation, said to have got political clearance last week, lasted less than an hour and there was only one target, the risks were high and pressure for guaranteed success was huge. Read More

At 11.30 am on Tuesday, about six hours after Pakistan Army’s spokesperson first broke the news of a “Line of Control violation by the Indian Air Force,” the government confirmed that India had struck the Jaish camp in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday in what it called a “non-military pre-emptive action”.

By striking terrorist camps about 80 km away from the Line of Control in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, India chose “non-military” targets, the Jaish-e-Mohammed-run terror camps, and justified the strikes as “pre-emptive” since terrorists, Delhi said, were plotting another attack.

Less than a fortnight after the single bloodiest attack in Jammu and Kashmir in the last three decades of militancy, India on Tuesday conducted air strikes deep inside Pakistan, the first time after the 1971 war that it has hit targets in the country. Announcing that India had struck the “biggest training camp” of the Jaish-e-Mohammad in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday, in which “a very large number” of JeM terrorists and their trainers were “eliminated”, the NDA government, effectively, drew a new red line in its strategic calculus with Pakistan. Read More

EAM @SushmaSwaraj speaking after the All Party Meeting convened on anti-terror strike on JeM training camp in Balakot pic.twitter.com/Tg1tZp6HSR

— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) February 26, 2019

Leaders of different political parties on Tuesday congratulated the Indian Air Force at an all-party meeting on operation targeting a terrorist camp in Pakistan, with the Congress saying that it will support security forces in their endeavour to finish terrorism coming into India from outside. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj briefed the leaders, who included CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury, TMC's Derek O'Brian, Omar Abdullah of National Conference and Bhartruhari Mahtab from BJD, on the air strike carried out in the early hours. PTI

After the all-party meeting, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said she expressed her happiness that all parties in one voice praised the security forces and supported the government's anti-terror operations.

The official Pakistani statement issued after the special meeting of that country’s National Security Committee has “strongly rejected (the) Indian claim of targeting an alleged terrorist camp near Balakot as well as the claim of heavy casualties”. But it has also alleged that “this action (by India) has been done for domestic consumption being in election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk”, and accused New Delhi of “uncalled for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing”. READ EXPLAINED HERE

The EU has called on New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise "maximum restraint" after Indian Air Force destroyed a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp in Balakot. "We remain in contact with both countries and what we believe is essential is that all exercise maximum restraint and avoid further escalation of tensions," EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told reporters. PTI

Delhi: Visuals from the all-party meeting called by EAM Sushma Swaraj at Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan. pic.twitter.com/9FnQ59bFsQ

— ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2019

Expressing concerns over the heightened tension between India and Pakistan, the Australian government called on  Islamabad to take "urgent and meaningful action" against terrorist groups in its territory, including Jaish-e-Mohammed which has claimed responsibility for Pulwama attack. "Pakistan must do everything possible to implement its own proscription of Jaish-e-Mohammed. It can no longer allow extremist groups the legal and physical space to operate from its territory," it said. 

Punjab has its put its border districts on high alert in the wake of the Indian Air Force surgical strikes across the Line of Control, undertaken by India as a retaliatory measure in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has ordered a spate of measures as part of the state’s preparedness to deal with any contingency in view of the latest developments at the LoC. DCs and SSPs of the border areas have been asked to put in place all contingency plans to ensure the protection and safety of the citizens.

A non military preemptive strike means that a military target has not been hit by the Indian Air Force that carried out the strikes in the early hours of Tuesday. Hitting a military target would be construed as an act of war. READ more here

Pakistan has "strongly rejected" India's claim" of targeting terrorist camp near Balakot and causing heavy casualties even as it vowed to respond "at the time and place of its choosing" to what it called India's "uncalled for aggression". At a special meeting of the National Security Committee hours after Indian air strikes in Balakot inside Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan asked the armed forces and the people of Pakistan to remain prepared for all eventualities. PTI

Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi received a telephone call from British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jeremy Hunt, today. Qureshi, according to a statement issued by his office, said he briefed the British Secretary of State on the evolving situation of peace and security in the region, particularly in the context of Pulwama incident.

News agency ANI: "Key Jaish e Mohammed terrorists targeted in today’s air strikes: Mufti Azhar Khan Kashmiri, head of Kashmir operations(pic 1) and Ibrahim Azhar(pic 2), the elder brother of Masood Azhar who was also involved in the IC-814 hijacking

Key Jaish e Mohammed terrorists targeted in today’s air strikes: Mufti Azhar Khan Kashmiri, head of Kashmir operations(pic 1) and Ibrahim Azhar(pic 2), the elder brother of Masood Azhar who was also involved in the IC-814 hijacking pic.twitter.com/IUv1njNygA

— ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2019

News agency ANI has put out photos of the JeM terror camp in Balakot that was destroyed earlier today. 

Intel Sources: Picture of JeM facility destroyed by Indian Ar Force strikes in Balakot, Pakistan pic.twitter.com/th1JWbVrHw

— ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2019

Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Defence Minister and Finance Minister are likely to hold a press conference at 3.30 pm IST, Radio Pakistan has tweeted.

India has started briefing foreign diplomats on the air strikes conducted by the Indian Air Force. Foreign Secretary Gokhale and other Secretaries are briefing foreign envoys, including P5, during the course of the day.

A Pakistani unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was on Tuesday shot down near the International Border in Kutch district of Gujarat, police sources said. Debris of the UAV was seen near Nanghatad village in Abdasa taluka of Kutch, they said. On hearing a loud sound around 6 am, villagers went to the spot and found the debris of the UAV, the sources said. Asked if a Pakistani UAV had been shot down by the Indian armed forces, a police official, on condition of anonymity, said, "Such an incident has happened, we are investigating the matter." The official, however, refused to elaborate further. - PTI

Balakot police chief Saghir Hussain Shah told The Associated Press that he had sent teams to the area where the bombs reportedly hit, which he described as a mostly deserted wooded area. "There are no casualties, there are no damages on the ground because of the dropping of the bombs," he said.

In its first reaction to India confirming a non-military preemptive strike on a major Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot, Pakistan, China on Tuesday said that it hoped the two countries will maintain "restraint" and "do more to improve bilateral relations."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said: "India and Pakistan are both important countries in South Asia. Sound relations and cooperation serves the interest of both countries for peace and stability in South Asia." Further, he said: "We hope the two countries can keep restraint and do more to improve bilateral relations."

Speaking at a rally in Rajasthan where he was addressing ex-servicemen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: I'm giving you the confidence that India is in safe hands... I understand your enthusiasm today... I won't let India's head bow down."

Omar Abdullah on Twitter: "JeM hit Indian forces & claimed the attack. In turn Indian forces hit JeM & owned that air strike. It’s now time for cooler heads to prevail. War is never an ideal option to resolve disputes. Let’s go back to the India-Saudi joint statement of last week."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at Rashtrapati Bhavan to present the Gandhi Peace Prize.

Prime Minister @narendramodi called on President Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier today pic.twitter.com/Q8LapCfsRB

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) February 26, 2019

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will host an all-party meeting today at 5 pm where she is likely to brief the parties on the action taken against the JeM in the early hours of Tuesday. Swaraj had, earlier today, attended a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting held at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence. 

Get the latest updates and reactions following an air-strike destroying a JeM terror camp in Balakot, Pakistan where top commanders and fidayeen were killed.