Pak Army rejects Indian claim of destroying terror camps

The Pakistan military has rejected as 'false' the Indian Army's assertion that it targeted at least three terror camps in Pakistan occupied-Kashmir and said India is welcome to take any foreign diplomat or media to the site to 'prove' its claim on the ground.

Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat said on Sunday that six to 10 Pakistan Army personnel were killed and three terror camps destroyed in a retaliatory action by the Indian Army opposite the Tangdhar and Keran sectors in Jammu and Kashmir.

He said another terror camp was severely damaged in the action by the Indian forces and the retaliation had caused substantial harm to the terror infrastructure across the Line of Control (LoC).

Responding to Gen Rawat's claim, Pakistan's military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor in a midnight tweet expressed disappointment at Gen Rawat's assertions.

'The Indian Army chief's statement claiming destruction of three alleged camps is disappointing as he holds a very responsible appointment,' Ghafoor said.

'There are no camps let alone targeting those. Indian Embassy in Pakistan is welcome to take any foreign diplomat/media to ‘prove' it on the ground,' he said.

He said that the 'propensity of false claims by senior Indian military leadership especially since Pulwama incident is detrimental to peace in the region'.

'Such false claims by the Indian Army are being made to suit vested domestic interests. This is against professional military ethos,' Ghafoor said.

In a major counter-offensive after Pakistan's unprovoked firing, the Indian Army carried out heavy artillery strikes on Sunday, targeting four terror camps and several Pakistani military positions in Neelam Valley in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Gen Rawat said the terror camps destroyed by the forces were located in Athmuqam, Kundal Shahi and Jura, and the Army had information about a camp in Leepa Valley too.

'So, these are the camps we had information on and these are the camps we have targeted. And people who were supporting them, also the Pakistani posts, bore the brunt of our retaliatory action as well,' he said.

If Pakistan continued with such activities, the Indian Army would not hesitate to retaliate, Gen Rawat asserted.

Meanwhile, quoting an unidentified foreign office source, the Express Tribune reported on Monday that Pakistan has invited Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad, Gaurav Ahluwalia, for a visit to areas along the LoC.

The Indian envoy has been invited along with other heads of the diplomatic missions to give them a first-hand account of the ground situation at the LoC.

The move is an attempt to 'dispel New Delhi's claims of destroying alleged terror camps' along the LoC, the report said.

The Indian High Commission, it claimed, is considering the invitation.