No Pakistan soldier or citizen died in Balakot air strike: Sushma Swaraj

No Pakistani soldier or citizen died in the air strike on a camp at Balakot in Pakistan in February, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Thursday.

Addressing women party workers here, she said Indianmilitary was given a “free hand” in the operation but was clearly toldthat no Pakistani citizen should be killed and also there be “not be evena scratch” on the Pakistani army.

   

“Our armed forces were told to target onlyJaish-e-Mohammed which was behind the Pulwama attack and they did just that –destroyed their camp and returned,” the senior BJP leader said.

The IAF had struck a Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp inPakistan on February 26, in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack in which40 CRPF personnel were killed.

Swaraj said the air strike was carried out in self- defence.”When we carried out the air strike, we had told the internationalcommunity that we took the step only in self- defence,” she said.

She said the entire international community supported Indiaover the air strike.

Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Swaraj said he hasemerged as a top international leader who sets the agenda for the world.

On the 2008 Mumbai attack, Swaraj said the then Congress-ledUPA government had failed to take along other countries to isolate Pakistandespite the fact that 40 persons belonging to 14 countries were also killed inthe strike.

Pakistan had objected to the invitation extended to India for a meet of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi last month, but the host county UAE snubbed Islamabad, she said.

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