Islamabad: In a media address, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday claimed that two Indian MIGs crossed the Line of Control and they were shot down, as he offered to defuse tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and resolve the issues through talks. Imran Khan said that they offered every kind of investigation after Pulwama attack in India. He said that Pakistan didn’t take action on Tuesday morning because they weren’t aware of the damage caused by the Indian air strike. "Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. Two of their MiGs were shot down (in the ensuing action)," Khan said in a live TV address. Khan said, “We did not want to cause much collateral damage in India when there was not much damage on our side. The only motive of Pakistan’s strike on Wednesday was to demonstrate that we have the capability to hit back.” “All the wars have happened due to miscalculation. With all the weapons that Pakistan and India have, can we afford to miscalculate. If we take to war neither I nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be in a position to control its course. This is why I suggest that better sense should prevail,” said Imran Khan. "Let's sit together and settle this with talks," he added. His comments came minutes after the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action".<doc-sep>Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan will stage an emergency parliamentary session and meet with the body in control of Islamabad's nuclear arsenal in response to India's first air strikes on Pakistan since 1971. Key points: Indian fighter jets struck an area 50 kilometres into Pakistan on Tuesday Indian fighter jets struck an area 50 kilometres into Pakistan on Tuesday India said the strike was in response to a terrorist attack that killed 44 Indian police India said the strike was in response to a terrorist attack that killed 44 Indian police Pakistan said its own warplanes had scattered Indian jets, forcing them to drop their payload over uninhabited areas The two nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars since partition in 1947, and the majority of them have been over Kashmir — a territory both India and Pakistan claim in full. The air strike near Balakot, a town 50 kilometres into Pakistan from the Indian border, was the deepest raid launched by India since the last of its three wars with Pakistan, but there were competing claims about any damage caused. India said its air force jets hit a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the militant group that claimed credit for a February 14 suicide bombing attack that killed more than 44 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir. Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said "a very large number" of militants were killed in the strikes in north-east Pakistan, which were launched as a result of government intelligence that JeM was planning more attacks "The existence of such training facilities, capable of training hundreds of jihadis, could not have functioned without the knowledge of the Pakistani authorities," Mr Gokhale said. A senior Indian Government source said 300 militants had been killed in the strikes and warplanes had ventured as far as 80 kilometres inside Pakistan, but they provided no evidence. 'You all know what that means' Pakistan said its Prime Minister would "engage with global leadership to expose irresponsible Indian policy". ( Pakistan Press Information Department via AP Pakistan has disputed India's claims of success, and later said that its own warplanes had scattered Indian jets and forced them to drop their payload over uninhabited areas, resulting in zero casualties. An Indian official later said air force jets intercepted Pakistani planes in Kashmir in a separate incident, and said an Indian jet crashed, killing two pilots and a civilian. Pakistan's National Security Committee (NSC), comprising top officials including Mr Khan and army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, said the Prime Minister would "engage with global leadership to expose irresponsible Indian policy". A government spokesperson added that a command and control authority meeting, which decides over the use of nuclear weapons, had been convened for Wednesday, and noted: "You all know what that means." Speaking to the ABC's AM program, Dhruva Jaishankar from the Brookings Institute said Pakistan's retort was an attempt to quell further military escalation. "Pakistan has reason to deny and downplay the effectiveness of the strikes," Ms Jaishankar said. "It helps to manage domestic political opinion and ensure that there's not a demand for escalation, and India, I think, has been very clear that something did occur," she said. Indians celebrate Pakistani strike Supporters of India's ruling Bhartiya Janata Party have celebrated the airstrike on Pakistan. ( AP: Altaf Qadri While the results of the strikes in the early hours of Tuesday were disputed, that did not stop many in India from believing their government's version of events. "Modi ji (Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has finally done it," said Sandeep Sharma, a driver in the Jammu region of India's border state of Jammu and Kashmir. "There's a lot of anger against Pakistan here." India's opposition leaders, many of whom have banded together against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), congratulated the Indian Air Force (IAF), though they stopped short of praising the Prime Minister. "I salute the pilots of the IAF," Rahul Gandhi, leader of India's main opposition Congress, said in a tweet. In a village 100 metres from the Line of Control that acts as the de facto border with Pakistan, men gathered around a bunker for security forces that is under construction and shouted slogans hailing India. ABC/Reuters<doc-sep>Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan (Source: Twitter/PakPMO) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan (Source: Twitter/PakPMO) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday asked the country to remain “prepared for all eventualities” after a special meeting of the National Security Committee hours after Indian air strikes in Balakot inside Pakistan.” Khan’s office said he will “engage with the global leadership to expose irresponsible Indian policy”. Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC), comprising top officials including PM 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.” Watch: India confirms air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammad camp in Pakistan Pakistan’s top security committee said India “committed uncalled for aggression” with the strike and vowed to respond “at the time and place of its choosing”, adding that the action was done for “domestic consumption” in an election year. The Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held by May. “Forum (NSC) strongly rejected Indian claim of targeting an alleged terrorist camp near Balakot and the claim of heavy casualties. Once again Indian government has resorted to a self serving, reckless and fictitious claim,” said a statement issued after the NSC meeting in Islamabad. Read | IAF strikes JeM camp in Balakot: Full text of India’s statement It claimed that the “action has been done for domestic consumption being in election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk.” It also invited the world media to see the facts on ground and proposed a visit to the site. India early Tuesday morning carried out a “non-military, preemptive action” against a major terror camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot. The strike was conducted after the government received credible information about “another suicide terror attack” being planned by JeM in various parts of the country. The JeM claimed the responsibility for the Pulwama attack in Kashmir that killed 40 CRPF officers.<doc-sep>Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has refuted India's announcement of a pre-emptive strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed on his country's soil, and called it a "self serving, reckless and fictitious claim". But he also said his country would respond to what he described as "uncalled-for aggression" and asked his compatriots to prepare for "all eventualities". "This action has been done for domestic consumption being in election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk," Imran Khan said in a Facebook post about a National Security Committee meeting held on Tuesday in his office. Those who attended the meeting, he said, "concluded that India has committed uncalled for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing". "[The] PM has directed that elements of national power including the Armed Forces and the people of Pakistan to remain prepared [sic] for all eventualities," said the statement posted by Khan. India's external affairs ministry said earlier on Tuesday that New Delhi had carried out a non-military, intelligence-led strike on JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot, located in Pakistan. The announcement came 12 days after JeM carried out a suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir and killed 40 CRPF soldiers, enraging India. "Credible intelligence was received that JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country, and the fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose. In the face of imminent danger, a pre-emptive strike became absolutely necessary," Foreign Secretary Vijay Keshav Gokhale said at a news conference. Sources said twelve Mirage 2000 jets from the Indian Air Force carried out a pre-dawn strike after taking off from Gwalior and crossing the Line of Control. Meanwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a rally in Rajasthan -- after news of the strike broke -- that India was in safe hands, and vowed to not "let the country bow down".<doc-sep>
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday called for de-escalation of hostility in the aftermath of Pulwama terror attack. In a televised address, Imran Khan said violation of Indian airspace by Pakistan air force was “a demonstration of our capabilities” after strike by Indian Air Force on Tuesday. He said, “We didn’t take action on Tuesday morning because we weren’t aware of the damage caused by air strike by India. We did not want to cause much collateral damage in India when there was not much damage on our side. The only motive of Pakistan’s strike today was to demonstrate that we have the capability to hit back.” Also watch: Pakistan PM offers talks with India, says ‘better sense should prevail’ He was referring to IAF strike on terror camps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The terror camp was believed to be the biggest training centre of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed. India’s Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Tuesday said that the terror camp was targeted following “credible” intelligence input that Jaish was planning terror attacks in India. The Pakistan prime minister said the country’s air force crossed the Line of Control (LoC) this morning to demonstrate its capability to carry out a similar exercise inside Indian territories. Three Pakistan Air Force aircrafts were reported to have violated Indian airspace. Indian Air Force shot down one F-16 jet of Pakistan whose debris fell on the other side of the LoC, said Raveesh Kumar, external affairs ministry spokesperson. Other aircrafts of Pakistan Air Force were forced to fly back. Kumar said the IAF lost one MiG-21 Bison in the “aerial engagement” with Pakistani air force jets. “One pilot is missing in action,” he told a press conference in New Delhi. Imran Khan, in his statement, claimed that two MiG planes crossed the border in retaliation of Pakistan air force’s action. “They were shot down. The pilots are with us,” he said. Further, Khan appeared to play down the impact of IAF strike saying “not much damage was done” in the exercise. He appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the issues through dialogue. “All the wars have happened due to miscalculation. With all the weapons that you (India) and we (Pakistan) have, can we afford to miscalculate. If it escalates neither I or Mr Narendra Modi would be in a position to control its course. This is why I suggest that better sense should prevail,” Khan said. Khan’s fresh call for dialogue comes in the wake of India’s effort to corner Pakistan among international community in the wake of Pulwama terror attack, in which at least 40 soldiers were killed. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack. In his last televised statement, Khan appeared to ignore the claims made by Jaish. Pakistan has long denied its role in terror acts in India, which has handed it over several dossiers containing evidence of involvement of terror groups working from its soil.