A video has been circulating in Pakistan where an officer from their Army can be seen admitting that more than 200 terrorists were killed in the airstrikes conducted by the Indian Air Force at Balakot. The video was shared on Twitter by Senge Hasnan Sering, a US-based activist from Gilgit.
#Pakistan military officer admits to “martyrdom” of more than 200 militants during Indian strike on #Balakot. Calls the terrorists Mujahid who receive special favors/ sustenance from Allah as they fight to support PAK government [against enemies]. Vows to support families pic.twitter.com/yzcCgCEbmu
— #SengeSering ས།ཚ། (@SengeHSering) March 13, 2019
Speaking to ANI, Sering said that he could not vouch for the authenticity of the video but claimed that Pakistan was “definitely hiding something very important” which happened in Balakot. He said, “Pakistan continues to claim that the strike happened and it damaged the forest area and some farmland. But then there’s no reason for Pakistan to cordon off the area for such a long time and not allow the international media to have an independent opinion on the situation there.”
“At the same time, the Jaish-e-Muhammad claims that its Madrassa was there. At the same time, there have been reports in the Urdu media of some dead bodies being transported from Balakot to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas a few days or the next day after the attack happened,” he added. He further stated that there was “enough evidence” for people to “speculate with confidence” that the Indian airstrikes were successful as “Pakistan has not been able to prove otherwise”.
Pakistan has continued to maintain that Indian bombs had destroyed nothing but a few trees in the region. It was even considering registering a complaint against India at the UN for ‘eco-terrorism’. But, despite denials, it has refused international media organizations access to visit the site.
Senior leaders from the Opposition parties in India, especially the Congress, have been questioning the airstrikes as well despite mounting evidence. The likes of Digvijay Singh, Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, and Kapil Sibal have demanded evidence for the strikes claiming that there were some significant doubts regarding the matter.
The Indian Air Force has assured repeatedly that its strikes were successful. Reports have also revealed recently that 263 terrorists were eliminated in the attack on Jaba Top, including 16 JeM commanders.
