This obfuscation is made possible by the fact that there are two towns by the name of Balakot - one just across the LoC from the Indian town of Poonch, and the other deep inside Pakistan in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The BBC reports that the strikes were in the latter, where local villagers say they heard explosions.<doc-sep>Both India and Pakistan claim all of Muslim-majority Kashmir, but control only parts of it. The nuclear-armed nations have fought three wars and a limited conflict since independence from Britain in 1947 - and all but one were over Kashmir.<doc-sep>Imran Khan had asked the armed forces and the people of Pakistan to be prepared for "all eventualities." Highlights Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting with top officials Amid rising tension, many airports in north India shut down Pakistan has also stopped flights from Islamabad and Lahore In an escalation of hostilities a day after Indian Air Force Jets crossed the Line of Control and struck a terror training camp, Pakistan claimed "strikes across Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace". There were reports of Pakistani fighter jets violating Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri sectors. A Pakistani F-16 aircraft crashed on its territory, in the Lam Valley area along the Line of Control. Prime Minister Narendra Modi left an event early and met with top officials including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the Defence and Foreign Secretaries and intelligence officials. Amid rising tension, India will avoid the Pakistani airspace, said officials. Eight airports in north India, including Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Jammu, Srinagar and Leh, were declared shut by the Airports Authority of India, but the order was withdrawn within hours. Pakistan has stopped flights from Islamabad and Lahore. The area near the Line of Control has been on high alert amid warnings of retaliation by Islamabad after India's fighter jets destroyed a terror camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot, around 80 km from the Line of Control. India said it was a "non-military and pre-emptive" strike based on credible inputs that Jaish was training suicide bombers for more attacks like Pulwama. Over 40 soldiers were killed on February 14 when a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber attacked a security convoy. In a press release titled "Pakistani Strikes Back", Islamabad said on its strike claim: "This was not retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non-military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight." Amid the worst escalation between the two countries in decades, several countries have urged restraint. This morning, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said during a trilateral meeting in China that India wants to avoid any "further escalation of the situation". "The limited objective of that pre-emptive strike was to act decisively against the terrorist infrastructure of Jaish-e-Mohammed in order to pre-empt another terror attack in India," Sushma Swaraj said in Wuzhen. "India does not wish to see further escalation of this situation. India will continue to act with responsibility and restraint," she stated.<doc-sep>The Cross Border terror attack in Pulwama was a reality. The Balakot Operation was India’s Anti- Terror preemptive… https://t.co/uOD2rgn3Z4 — Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) 1551284990000 Mr. Jaitley, It’s BJP & its leadership who require real introspection. Entire opposition stood as one backing the… https://t.co/hbsURC96eZ — Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) 1551286345000 Opposition lauds IAF strikes, condemns politicisation of strike by ruling party NEW DELHI: The joint statement of 21 opposition parties expressing anguish over what they alleged was “blatant politicisation” by the Modi government of the sacrifices of the armed forces has found an echo in Pakistan. During these times of heightened tensions between the two countries, the current political debate in India on the fallout of the air strikes is also being used in Pakistan as part of the propaganda war.On Wednesday, the 21 opposition parties met in Parliament Library to discuss the Pulwama attack on a convoy of CRPF personnel on February 14 and its aftermath. They issued a joint statement after the meeting and which was also read out to the media by Congress president Rahul Gandhi .The statement condemned the “dastardly” Pulwama terror attack by “Pakistan-sponsored” terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The leaders paid homage to the soldiers killed in the attack and expressed solidarity with the armed forces.However, they also expressed anguish over what they alleged was “blatant politicisation” of the sacrifices of armed forces. Expressing concern over the prevailing security situation in the country, the statement said, “Anguished over blatant politicisation of sacrifices of armed forces by the ruling party. Urge the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity.”“National security must transcend narrow political considerations,” the joint statement added.It also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “regrettably” not convened an all-party meeting as per established practice.This statement was immediately used by the Pakistan government to allege that India was divided over security issues.In a television interview, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi alleged that for the first time the Indian opposition parties have openly have exposed the intentions of the ruling party.“What will we (in Pakistan) gain from by doing this? But India was bent upon drawing political mileage out of the Pulwama incident. The joint communique which the (Indian) opposition parties have issued says the ruling BJP government is using Pulwama to meet its own political ends,” Qureshi said.Even as Pakistan used the opposition statement for its own propaganda, Finance minister Arun Jaitley took exception to the opposition’s charge and also the manner in which it was being misused in Pakistan. He charged that the opposition’s “ill-advised” statement was being used by Pakistan to bolster its case.In three tweets, he said, “The cross-border terror attack in Pulwama was a reality. The Balakot Operation was India’s anti-terror preemptive strike to defend its sovereignty… The whole nation has spoken in one voice. Why, then is India’s opposition alleging that the government is politicising our anti-terror operations?”Making an appeal to India’s opposition, Jaitley said, “Let the country speak in one voice. Please introspect. Your ill-advised statement is being used by Pakistan to bolster its case.”However, Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala quickly issued a riposte. In a tweet, he said, “Mr Jaitley, It’s BJP & its leadership who require real introspection. The entire opposition stood as one backing the armed forces and the government. Still, (BJP president) Amit Shah and the entire BJP resorted to credit-seeking for the sacrifice of our martyrs and indulged in blaming the Congress provocatively.”<doc-sep>
BJP leaders criticised Mamata Banerjee for "doubting the success of Air Force's strikes. BJP National General secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today for "doubting" success of the Indian Air Force strike targeting Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror training camp in Pakistan's Balakot. "It is a matter of shame that just for the sake of politics; a chief minister doubts our armed forces. The entire nation stands by them. We condemn such statements," he said in Kolkata. Targeting Ms Banerjee, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh said it is "condemnable" that an Indian politician, and not a Pakistani, is demanding evidence of success of the air strike. "Had a Pakistani politician asked such a question, we would have understood it. But it is shameful and condemnable that a politician from India, that too a chief minister, has been raising such questions," Mr Ghosh said. Yesterday, Ms Banerjee had said the nation has a right to know what actually happened after the IAF's strike since foreign media reported that not much damage had been done. "We have the right to know. The people want to know how many were killed. Where was the bomb actually dropped? Was it dropped on the target?" she had asked. Mr Vijayvargiya also claimed that the return of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's diplomatic victory. "For the last two days Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been trying to talk to our prime minister but they said they have to release our pilot first," he said. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured on Wednesday after India and Pakistan's engaged in an air battle following Pakistan's attempt to target Indian military installations in retaliatory strikes.