Pak journalist questions veracity of casualties in air strike

Bengaluru, Feb 27: Pakistan's only Emmy-nominated reporter, Wajahat Saeed Khan, denied India's claim of neutralising 350 terrorists in Balakot across the Line of Control (LoC). Wajahat Khan, the anchor and editor of the hit prime-time show with Dunya News, asked veracity of the claim made by the Indian side.

He asked if there was attack then why no funerals were held why there was no angry response from the families and friends of the terrorists killed in the strike.

He said, "In a country where one immediately gets reports about whether the khana at a falana shaadi or a falana soyem was served hot or cold, how can 350 terrorists - allegedly obliterated Top Gun style - just disappear? No funerals? No angry families or friends? No crazy mosque sermons?".

Khan shared a video on his Facebook wall saying, 'At least one not-so-bad guy is injured.' The video shows an injured old man and the nearby house damaged in the bombing. The video was shot at Jaba (near Balakot) in Mansehra district.

Indian Air Force on Tuesday conducted air strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) reportedly killing over 200-300 terrorists. This was in response to the attack earlier this month on CRPF jawans in Pulwama which left over 40 Indian army personnel dead.

In a press conference held after the air strike, The Government of India said it is firmly and resolutely committed to taking all measures to fight the menace of terrorism.

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said credible information was received that Jaish-e-Mohammed was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country and fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose."

About the air strike across the LoC, he said, "This non-military pre-emptive action was targeted specifically at JeM camp. The selection of the target was also conditioned by our desire to avoid civilian casualties."