Security forces fully prepared: Rajnath Singh on reactivation of Balakot terror camp

On Monday, Rawat said that Pakistan had reactivated the Balakot terror camp recently and about 500 infiltrators were waiting to sneak into India. The response to the Balakot terror camp getting functional again may go beyond India’s previous retaliation by way of an airstrike in February, Rawat added.

Countering Rawat’s claims of reactivating terror camps in Balakot, Pakistan Tuesday called his remarks as “completely baseless”.

“Indian statements and measures are a threat to regional peace and stability. India will not succeed in misleading the international community by using these negative tactics,” said a statement released by Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal.

In the aftermath of the Pulwama attack in February that killed 40 CRPF personnel, India had struck the “biggest training camp” of the JeM in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in February, in which “a very large number” of JeM terrorists and their trainers were “eliminated.” While Pakistan had denied India’s claims, New Delhi had said the radar imagery confirmed that the target was hit.

Meanwhile, Rawat told the media in Jharkhand that people in Kashmir were moving freely and those claiming that there was a shutdown were the ones whose survival depended on terrorism. Rawat was in Jharkhand presenting the President’s colours to 29th and 30th battalions of the Punjab Regimen.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, today presented the ‘President’s Colours’ Nishan to 29 Punjab & 30 Punjab, during Colour Presentation Parade held at the PUNJAB Regimental Centre, Ramgarh. (ANI photo)

“Normal life in Jammu and Kashmir has not been affected. People are doing their necessary work, a clear sign that work has not been stopped and people are freely moving around. Those who feel that life has been affected are the ones whose survival depends on terrorism,” he said.

Speaking further on the situation in the Valley, Rawat said brick kilns were functioning normally, trucks were transporting sand and shops were open.

However, the Army chief deflected a question of whether there was tension along the Line of Control and instead said people were facing trouble because of Tuesday’s earthquake in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

A powerful 5.8-magnitude earthquake had hit PoK on Tuesday, tremors of which were felt in Delhi as well, killing at least 26 people and injuring over 300 others.

Tensions have been heightened between the neighbouring countries ever since India scrapped the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370.