New Delhi/Islamabad — The tense relations between nuclear powers India and Pakistan nose-dived on Tuesday after Indian Air Force fighter planes dropped laser-guided bombs at what India claimed a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp well across the Line of Control in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa's Balakot. The IAF used Mirage-2000 jets with laser-guided 1,000 pound bombs causing an estimated casualty, Indian sources said. Pakistan officials, however, denied there had been any casualties. "In the face of imminent danger, a preemptive strike became absolutely necessary," Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters. Pakistan's top civilian and military leaders rejected India's comments that it had struck "terror camps" inside Pakistan, vowing to prove wrong India's claims and warning that it would retaliate against Indian aggression. Pakistan's National Security Committee (NSC), comprising top officials including Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, said in a statement that it "strongly rejected Indian claim of targeting an alleged terrorist camp near Balakot and the claim of heavy casualties." The statement said Khan would "engage with global leadership to expose irresponsible Indian policy". It also warned that "Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing" to Indian aggression. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi asserted that Pakistan is a peaceful country but understands the importance of protecting its borders, as he outlined the government's response and future course of action. Qureshi made these remarks at a joint press conference in Islamabad alongside Finance Minister Asad Umar and Defense Minister Pervez Khattak. China, Pakistan's long-time ally, urged both countries to exercise restraint as tensions rose to the highest in years. "We hope that India and Pakistan can exercise restraint, and take steps that are conducive to stabilizing the regional situation and improving bilateral ties, rather than the opposite," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a daily news briefing in Beijing. The EU called on New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise "maximum restraint". "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 in Brussels. A senior Indian government source said that 300 militants had been killed in the strikes and that the warplanes had ventured as far as 80 km inside Pakistan. "I want to assure you our country is in safe hands," Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a cheering political rally in western India hours after the raid. "I won't let the country down," said Modi, who faces a tight election in coming months. There has been mounting impatience in India to avenge the Feb.14 attack, which was the most deadly seen in Kashmir during an insurgency that has last three decades, and as news of the raid broke, celebrations erupted across the country. — With agencies
