New Delhi, February 27: The Minister of External Affairs (MEA), Sushma Swaraj, who is on a visit to China, raised the Pulwama terror attack on the CRPF soldiers in her bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a day after Indian Air Force (IAF) destroyed a major terror training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Balakot, Pakistan. Sushma Swaraj defended India's action and called it a preemptive strike to prevent future terror attacks by JeM. Swaraj met the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the 16th Foreign Ministers meeting of Russia-India-China (RIC) in Wuzhen. IAF Strikes in Pakistan: 'Highest Alert' in Delhi, Mumbai and 5 Other Cities; Security Increased at Defence Installations.
"I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir,"said minister Swaraj. Surgical Strike 2: Indian Air Force Strikes JeM Camps in Pakistan Days After Pulwama Attack, Pak Officials Cry Intrusion.
Sushma Swaraj said that the IAF strikes on Balakot, Muzaffarabad, and Chakothi was not a military operation but a preemptive measure to prevent another attack on Indian soil.
Read her Statement in the Tweet Below:
EAM: It wasn't a military op, no military installation targeted. Objective was to act against terrorist infrastructure of JeM to preempt another terror attack in India. India doesn't wish to see further escalation of situation. It'll continue to act with responsibility&restraint. pic.twitter.com/oEJWksZlsa
— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019
Swaraj continued, "Following the Pulwama terrorist attack instead of taking seriously the calls by international community to act against Jaish-e-Mohammed and other terror groups based in Pakistan, it denied any knowledge of the attack and outrightly dismissed claims by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)." Swaraj added that, "based on credible info that JeM was planning other attacks in parts of India, GoI decided to take preemptive action and target was selected in order to avoid civilian casualties."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 27, 2019 08:51 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).