New Delhi: Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) on Saturday confirmed that their training camp was bombed by the Indian Air force.
An audio clip was released which bore the voice of Jaish-e-Mohammed commander, Maulana Ammar, who had been identified as the brother of JeM founder Masood Azhar.
An open confession by the commander can be heard about the aerial strike conducted by the Indian forces.
Addressing his followers Ammar talked about India’s pre-emptive strike.
The JeM commander shared the details of the incident and said that the enemy crossed over into Pakistan and launched attacks on Islamic 'Markaz' (a religious center).
“By doing so, the enemy has declared the war against our country. They bombed the center where students were trained to understand the concept of 'Jihad' so as to assist the oppressed Kashmiris,” he said.
Ammar also urged the followers to take-up the weapons and retaliate to show jihad is still an obligation or a duty.
#Exclusive: In a sermon in #Pakistan, #JaisheMohammad leader accepts Indian planes were targeting their center in #Balakot. He criticizes @ImranKhanPTI for releasing #IndianAirForce pilot #Abhinandhan. He also calls Pakistanis for joining #jihad in Indian-administered #Kashmir pic.twitter.com/j4pQ4WG96T
— Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) March 2, 2019
JeM commander's admission comes as a counter to the Pakistan government and military’s statement that denied India's ‘pre-emptive’ strikes and the claim of heavy casualties.
Earlier Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi admitted to the presence of Masood Azhar in Pakistan.
In an interview, he had claimed that the JeM chief is in Pakistan and is ‘unwell to an extent that he cannot move out of his house’.
Moreover, Qureshi had also demanded a ‘potential evidence’ from India to prove the JeM's involvement in the Pulwama terror attack so that subsequently Pakistan can take action against the outfit.
India's opposition also demanded the proof from the Central government about the Indian air strike on Pakistan’s Balakot.
A few hours later, Indian Foreign Secretary of MEA, Vijay Gokhale confirmed the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) aerial strike across the LoC.
Gokhale said, “In an intelligence lead operation, India struck the biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot."
Later, a senior air force official on Thursday said there was ample indication that the objective of the bombing, carried out a couple of hours before daybreak on Tuesday, had met its objective.
Indian Air Force had launched the pre-emptive air strike on Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 26 February.
12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets launched an air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in retaliation against Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were martyred.
