Indian forces destroyed nine terror camps within Pakistan during the early hours of Wednesday — some two weeks after the horrifying Pahalgam attack. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has since vowed a strong response to the strikes and insisted that the ‘martyrs’ would be avenged. Meanwhile defence minister Khawaja Asif claimed that Islamabad was “trying to avoid” a full-fledged war — but reiterated that his country was “prepared” for such a scenario.
“We will avenge these martyrs for every drop of their blood spilled… Pakistan knows how to give a befitting reply. The entire nation salutes its brave armed forces,” Sharif told the media on Wednesday night.
He also lauded the Pakistani military for its response reiterating claims that it had taken down five Indian fighter jets during the late night clash. Sharif claimed that India would have to “suffer the consequences” of of its air strikes without specifying any details.
Asif had cited “videos on social media” as proof for the assertion during an interaction with CNN earlier in the day. New Delhi however clarified that the missile strikes — carried out entirely from Indian soil — had seen no confirmed reports of collateral damage
The operation launched in the early hours of Wednesday had focused on terror infrastructure linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen. The Indian Armed Forces said four of the nine targeted terrorist camps are in Pakistan — located at Bahawalpur, Muridke, Sarjal, and Mehmoona Joya. The strikes also targeted five sites in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir — two camps in Muzaffarabad, Gulpur Camp in Kotli and Barnala Camp in Bhimber — which were linked to these terror organisations and used for training and other purposes.
(With inputs from agencies)
