'Prepare for all eventualities’: Imran Khan to Pak as India hits terror camp

Islamabad, Feb 26: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday directed the nation's armed forces and people to remain prepared "for all eventualities" after holding an emergency meeting of the National Security Council.

"This action has been done for domestic consumption being in election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk," Imran Khan said in a Facebook post about a National Security Committee meeting held on Tuesday in his office.

Those who attended the meeting, he said, "concluded that India has committed uncalled for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing".

In a swift and precise air strike following the Pulwama attack, India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders.

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told the media the "intelligence-led operation" on the Pakistan-based terror group's biggest training camp in Balakot became "absolutely necessary" as it was planning more suicide attacks in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi briefed President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu about Tuesday's strike.

Though Gokhale did not make it clear if the strike was on Balakote in Pakistan occupied Kashmir or Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, defence sources said it was the latter.

Balakot is about 80 km from the Line of Control and near Abbotabad where Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed in hiding by covert US forces. Gokhale also did not give details of how the attacks were carried out but the defence sources said a group of Mirage 2000 jets was used to drop bombs in the operation, which also included various other aircraft.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had earlier said: "This was grave aggression by India against Pakistan. This is a violation of LoC and Pakistan has the right to retaliate and self-defence".