The confrontation follows escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals since the February 14 suicide bombing in Kashmir, when 40 Indian paramilitary police were killed by a Pakistani-based militant group. “Indian aircrafts intruded from Muzafarabad sector,” Pakistani military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter early on Tuesday, referring to an area in the Pakistan-administered part of Kashmir. Ghafoor said “facing timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force”, the Indian aircraft “released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot. In 2016, following another large attack on Indian security forces in Kashmir, New Delhi said its troops crossed the LoC and carried out a “surgical strike” on suspected militant camps across the border in Pakistan Kashmir. Adding to the proceedings, an Indian minister confirmed the fact that Indian air force jets has carried out air strikes on militant camps inside Pakistan on Tuesday, the first Indian comment on the raids.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 26, 2019 05:00 UTC