The 2019 Balakot airstrike occurred on 26 February 2019, when twelve Mirage 2000H jets of the Indian Air Force crossed the Line of Control in Kashmir to perform an airstrike on what India says was a terrorist training camp inside Pakistan.[8] The airstrikes were a retaliation for an attack on its paramilitary forces, which took place two weeks prior.[9][10] The Indian government stated that it was a "preemptive non military air strike based on credible intelligence" that another attack on India was planned by JeM.
According to India, the jets struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed-operated militant camp at Balakot killing a "very large"[11] number of militants and returned back into Indian airspace unharmed without being engaged by Pakistani aircraft.[10][12] Pakistan conceded the violation of their airspace near Muzaffarabad but rejected the claim that India targeted an alleged terrorist camp.[8] It asserted that a scrambling forced the Indian jets to retreat in a haste dropping their payloads in vacant fields and forest and that no casualties or infrastructural damage was inflicted.[13][14]
Subsequent to the incident, Indian and Pakistani troops shelled each other across the Line of Control; Pakistan reported four civilians killed and eleven wounded by Indian shelling.[15]
The airstrike was the first time since the war of 1971 that Indian Air Force aircraft crossed the Line of Control and the first time since both states have become nuclear powers.[16][a]
The Kashmir insurgency has been occurring since 1989, but a new wave of violence was witnessed during 2016 when Burhan Wanithen commander of Hizbul Mujahideen was killed in an encounter.[18] In 2018, more than 500 people (including civilians, soldiers and militants) were killed in the violence.[18] On 14 February 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora in the Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The attack resulted in the deaths of 46 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and the attacker. The perpetrator of the attack was from Indian-administered Kashmir.[19] The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).[20][21][22] Pakistan condemned the attack, and denied any connection to it.[23]
The airstrike occurred ahead of the 2019 Indian general election.[24][25] On February 19, Pakistan's PM attributed Indian government's desire to attack Pakistan to the upcoming election.[26][27] The Indian government rejected the allegation.[26]
On 26 February 2019, at around 3:30 am, the Indian air force conducted airstrikes at Balakot, deep within Pakistan as a retaliation to the Pulwama attack. The strikes were subsequently claimed to be "non-military" and "preemptive'' in nature; targeting a Jaish-e-Mohammed facility within Pakistan.[11] Some Indian news channels also reported more airstrikes by India on terrorist launch pads in Chakothi and Muzaffarabad.[28][29] Just immediately after the airstrike, the spokesperson of the Indian Defense Ministry had said of possessing no information about Pakistani allegations of airspace violations.[30]
After releasing the bombs, the jets returned back into Indian airspace unharmed and the Indian media claimed that whilst Pakistan scrambled its F-16 jets, they could not engage the Indian planes.[34]
Pakistani officials conceded the intrusion of Indian aircraft into its airspace but asserted that the Indian fleet was intercepted pending which they retreated back, releasing the payloads and a fuel dump in an open area.[35] In a press briefing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman, Major General Asif Ghafoor stated that three IAF teams were spotted approaching the Pakistan border from various sectors in the early hours of 26 February. He added that the two of these teams did not cross the border following a challenge from Pakistani aircraft flying combat air patrol, but the third one crossed the Line of Control from the Kiran Valley near Muzaffarabad before being intercepted by Pakistani Air Force (PAF) jets within three minutes of the incursion.[36][37]Pervez Khattak, Pakistani Defence Minister, stated that the Pakistani Air Force did not retaliate at that time because "they could not gauge the extent of the damage".[38]
The target
There has been ambiguity among the sources as to what the exact target was,[39] and about whether the madrassa -- Taleem ul-Quran[40] run by Masood Azhar's brother-in-law, Muhammad Yusuf Azhar, was an active JeM camp or not.
According to WikiLeaks, a 2004 United States Department of Defence interrogation report stated that Balakot had "a training camp that offers both basic and advanced terrorist training on explosives and artillery."[41] In contrast, military analysts asserted that whilst the area used to host militant camps, they dispersed after the 2005 Pakistan earthquake to avoid detection by the international aid groups providing relief in the area.[42]
Indian intelligence sources claim that the camp was located in a hilltop forest, 20 km (12 mi) from Balakot, and that it was a resort-style facility, with space and room for 500–700 militants, including a swimming pool, cooks and cleaners.[43]The New York Times mentioned western security officials of having doubted the existence of such large-scale training camps, asserting that Pakistan no longer runs them and that "militant groups are spread out in small groups around the country".[39]
The local people varied as to the purpose of the facility.[41] In the immediate aftermath of the strikes, whilst some claimed of it being an active Jaish training camp, others asserted it to have been a mere school for the local kids and that such militant camps used to exist far earlier.[44][41][45] On later visits by Reuters, the locals claimed that the school had been shut down about a year back and was no longer operational.[46]
Damage
India claimed that "a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis" were eliminated who were preparing for launching another suicide attack targeting Indian assets.[11] Indian media reported that the camp was leveled, and about 200–350 JeM militants were killed.[47][48] The exact figures varied across media-houses.[49] The National Technical Research Organisation had located about 300 active mobile phones in the camp; prior to the strike.[50][51] In contrast, Pakistan asserted that there were no casualties or infrastructure damage as a result of the attack.[52][53]
On March 3, India's Union Minister of StateS. S. Ahluwalia stated that the airstrike was only meant to "warn" and that India "did not want any human casualty".[54]Business Today India stated that the area around Balakot had been cordoned off by the Pakistan Army and evidences such as the dead bodies were being cleared from the area.[55]Praveen Swami writing for Firstpost claimed that Indian intelligence estimated a figure of about 20 casualties and that there were five confirmed kills per burial records.[56] He also noted a JeM rally in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on 28 February, wherein Masood Azhar's brother, Abdul Rauf Rasheed Alvi mentioned India's attack of their headquarters and vowed revenge.[56] In another piece he state that RAW analysts estimated 90 casualties including three Pakistani Army trainers, based on intercepted communications in the immediate.[40] Swami though noted a lack of witness testimony to independently assess the validity of above claims.[40]
Villagers from the area claimed that four bombs struck a nearby forest and a field resulting in damage to a building and injuring a local man around 3:00 AM.[57][44] Journalists associated with the Associated Press visited the area on 26 February and saw craters and damaged trees. The villagers they met reported no casualties.[58] A team from Al Jazeera visited the site two days after the strikes and noted "splintered pine trees and rocks" which were strewn across the four blast craters. The local hospital officials and residents asserted that they did not come across any casualty or wounded people. The reporters located the facility,[49] a school run by Jaish-e-Mohammed, at around a kilometre to the east of one of the bomb craters, atop a steep ridge but were unable to access it.[41] Reporters from Reuters were repeatedly denied access to the madrassa by the military citing security issues but they noted the structure (and it's vicinity) to be intact from the back.[44][46] The press wing of the Pakistan military had twice postponed scheduled visits to the site.[46]
Satellite data assessments
Satellite-data analysis by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Nathan Ruser concluded that there is "no apparent evidence of more extensive damage and on the face of it does not validate Indian claims regarding the effect of the strikes."[49][59][60] Michael Sheldon, a digital forensics analyst from Atlantic Council did another independent investigation on the issue which asserted that no damage was inflicted to any infrastructure around the target-site. It concluded that "something appeared to have gone wrong in the targeting process" and that the botch-up was mysterious in light of the autonomous nature of the supposedly used missiles.[61][62][63][64] A Reuters investigation based on high-resolution satellite imagery by Planet Labs noted an unchanged landscape when compared to an April 2018 satellite photo. It noted that "there were 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".[65]
In contrast, Indian officials said that synthetic aperture radar showed that four buildings had been destroyed but did not release those images.[60]
The IAF put air defence systems on alert along the international border and Line of Control to respond to any possible retaliation by the Pakistan Air Force.[66]
Pakistan's foreign ministerShah Mahmood Qureshi summoned an emergency meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan to discuss the security situation[67] and asserted that Pakistan reserved the right to retaliate.[68] The prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, convened an emergency meeting to review the situation.[69] At the end of this meeting, the National Security Council (NSC) released a statement denying the Indian claims of the destruction of any terrorist camp and described the attack as "uncalled for" whilst adding that retaliation would be forthcoming after a joint parliamentary session.[70][71] He also stated that Pakistan will take international media to the area of strikes but were delayed due to adverse weather conditions.[72]
ANI claimed to have released photos of the alleged JeM camp and weapons cache sourced from intelligence sources.[73][74][75]
Reactions
Foreign diplomats from the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Australia, Indonesia, Turkey, China and six ASEAN nations were briefed by Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale on the strike conducted.[76]Arun Jaitley, the Indian cabinet minister of Finance stated two reasons, for Pakistan denying the effectiveness of the airstrike stating, "There are two plausible reasons. First, the Pakistan army had created a big aura about its prowess among Pakistanis, and it did not want its image dented." He stated that the second reason was more important, and stated "Had the Pakistan army admitted that our fighters bombed its buildings, the first question to be raised would have been: What was the extent of damage? Experts would have come for a survey of the buildings and asked about the people staying inside... then Pakistan would have had to reveal names of the Jaish fighters who died there."[77]
Australia noted its condemnation of Pulwama attack and asked Pakistan to crack down on terrorists operating from its soil. It also asked both India and Pakistan to restrain from actions that would jeopardize peace.[78]China's foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang stated "We hope that both India and Pakistan can exercise restraint and adopt actions that will help stabilize the situation in the region and improve mutual relations".[79]France asked both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, saying that it supported Indian actions against terrorism and asked Pakistan to stop allowing its territory to be used by terrorists.[80] The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation condemned the airstrike and called on both India and Pakistan to show restraint.[81]United States Secretary of StateMike Pompeo termed the attack as a "counter-terrorism action" and reaffirmed US-India ties. He asked both sides to show restraint.[82]
^India Blames Pakistan for Attack in Kashmir, Promising a ResponseArchived 23 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine, New York Times. Feb 15, 2019. Quote:The militant who claimed responsibility for the attack, Aadil Ahmad Dar, was from a village about six miles from where the Indian convoy was struck, in contrast to the fighters and weapons that once streamed in from Pakistani-occupied areas to sustain the insurgency. And the explosives he packed into his car appear to have been locally procured, security experts said.
Jaish-e-Mohammed
