High resolution satellite images shows that the religious school run by Jaish-e-Mohammad still stands after India claimed that they hit the building and killed a large number of militants, reported Reuters.
The Reuters report said, “Until now, no high-resolution satellite images were publicly available. But the images from Planet Labs, which show details as small as 72 cm (28 inches), offer a clearer look at the structures the Indian government said it attacked.”
Satellite images show madrasa buildings in northeastern Pakistan still standing at scene of Indian bombing, casting further doubt on statements made by the Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi https://t.co/7gka4gl3Do by @ReutersMartinH @mgerrydoyle @SimonScarr pic.twitter.com/mO74swwUmE
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) March 6, 2019
The report further added that the image is ‘virtually unchanged’ from an April 2018 satellite photo of the facility. “There are no discernible holes in the roofs of buildings, no signs of scorching, blown-out walls, displaced trees around the madrasa or other signs of an aerial attack.”
The images cast further doubt on statements made over the last eight days by the Indian government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the raids, early on Feb. 26, had hit all the intended targets at the madrasa site near Jaba village and the town of Balakot in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Earlier, the opposition leaders had accused Narendra Modi of ‘politicising terror’ and had asked BJP to come clean on the number of casualties caused by the IAF strikes.
While Punjab Minister and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu questioned if it was an election gimmick, former Union Minister P. Chidambaram asked who put the number of casualties at 300-350.
Senior party leader Kapil Sibal has also sought proof of the strikes destroying the biggest camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad in Pakistan and accused Narendra Modi of politicising the issue.
On Tuesday, Pakistan took 44 members of proscribed organizations, including Mufti Abdul Raoof and Hamad Azhar — the former believed to be the brother of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) leader Masood Azhar and the latter his son — in preventive detention for investigation.
The tensions between the two countries have escalated following the Pulwama attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 49 CRPF personnel and which was claimed by militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad.
Following the attack, the Foreign Secretary of India had said on Tuesday that they have ‘struck the biggest camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot in the pre-dawn ‘preemptive strikes across the Line of Control’.
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“India struck the biggest camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot and a large number of terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis planning terror strikes were eliminated,” Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale had said.
Gokhale had added that India’s “non-military preemptive action” was specifically targeted at the Jaish-e-Mohammed camp.
“Credible intelligence was received that Jaish-e-Mohammed was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country and Fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose,” he had said.
“India has given proof many times seeking action against Jaish-e-Mohammed and others at terror camps so big, that they can train hundreds of jihadis and terrorists at any given time. But due to Pakistan’s inaction, this step was necessary and had to be taken,” he had said.
Earlier, India has said that they carried out a pre-dawn strike on a ‘militant camp’ across the Line of Control soon after Pakistan army said that Indian fighter jets were forced to leave after they crossed the LoC in Muzaffarabad sector.
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According to reports, the strike was carried out at around 3:30 Tuesday morning by 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets. The aircraft dropped, according to reports, ‘1,000 kg laser-guided bombs on a major militant camp across the Line of Control, completely destroying it’, news agency ANI reported, quoting Air Force sources.
Earlier, Pakistan Army claimed that the Indian military planes “intruded” from the Muzaffarabad sector but were forced to go back after Pakistan Air Force “immediately scrambled”.
Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan during a joint Parliament session on Thursday said that as a gesture of peace, they would return captured Indian pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan to India.
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He further stated that he was ready for talks with India and de-escalate tensions between both countries.
During the session, he said that the reason of escalation between India and Pakistan was the Kashmir dispute.
“All of this is because of Kashmir,” PM Khan said while addressing a joint session of parliament.
“I want to ask the Indian public about all that has happened over the past 4 years. There is an indigenous movement in Kashmir. At one point, Kashmiri leaders had not wanted separation, but because of Indian brutality, today all they demand is independence.
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