When 12 warplanes locked on to the target
In the early hours of Tuesday, 12 Mirage-2000 combat jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) armed with Israeli Precision Guided Munitions (PGM) took off from their Gwalior airbase on a crucial mission, cloaked in secrecy. The multirole fighter aircraft flew over Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir before crossing into Pakistani airspace and striking the largest training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Balakot inside Pakistan.
Balakot camp had over 200 terrorists, says official
The Balakot camp run by the terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) that was hit by the Indian Air Force in the early hours of Tuesday “housed more than 200 terrorists”, a senior government official said. The camp was headed by Jaish chief Masood Azhar’s brother-in-law Yusuf Azhar , Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said. It is located around 200 km from Islamabad on a hilltop in a forest far from the civilian area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Pakistan resorts to heavy shelling along LoC in J&K; 5 soldiers injured
The Army on Tuesday said Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire agreement on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and five soldiers were injured. "Post 6:30 p.m., out of anger and frustration, Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with heavy calibre weapons in 12 to 15 places all along the LoC," said the Army.
BJP spokespersons stress pre-emptive focus of strikes
BJP spokespersons, after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), were briefed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, both of whom stressed the point about this being a pre-emptive strike. Party chief Amit Shah tweeted his reactions by 1.30 p.m., congratulating the armed forces, adding that “today’s action further demonstrates that India is safe and secure under the strong and decisive leadership of Prime Minister Modi.”
Declaring 5 year I-T returns a must for poll candidates
The Central government on Tuesday issued a notification making it mandatory for candidates to declare total income as shown in their Income-Tax Returns (ITR) for the last five years, and that of their spouses, dependents and the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), as recommended by the Election Commission. The notification states that changes have been made to the Form-26 affidavit, which is submitted with the nomination paper, in consultation with the Election Commission. From now on, candidates will also have to provide their Permanent Account Number (PAN).
Theresa May offers MPs a choice of ruling out a no-deal Brexit
The campaigns to delay, modify — or even halt — the British government’s interpretation of Brexit gained a boost, as Prime Minister Theresa May said she could offer MPs a choice of ruling out a no-deal exit, or a time limited-delay to Brexit. The move comes a day after the Labour Party said it would support the holding of a second referendum if the government failed to back its alternative vision of Brexit.
Shooting World Cup: Reitz wins face-off of champions
Reigning Olympic champion Christian Reitz of Germany beat reigning World champion Lin Junmin of China 35-31in a spectacular men’s 25m rapid fire pistol in the shooting World Cup, at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Tuesday.
Editorial|Pushing boundaries: on Balakot air strikes
While the strikes followed the Pulwama attack by a couple of weeks, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale referred to the action as a “non-military pre-emptive strike”. The phrase indicates the action was based on an assessment of an imminent threat, and had ensured that Pakistan’s military personnel and infrastructure were not targeted, and civilian casualties were actively avoided.
