Kashmir is glued to the television sets and social media after the Indian Air Force (IAF) hit the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Kashmir woke up to the news of air strikes in POK by the IAF fighter jets.
Soon after, Srinagar has been abuzz with speculations with people trying to analyze the situation.
Sensing panic, Mayor of Srinagar Junaid Azim Mattu took to Twitter and urged the people to not panic and wait for the official information.
“Amid news of military and Air Force escalation along the LoC, it is important to not panic and wait for official dissemination of information from the local administration in Srinagar. Speculation will not help. I’m sure the administration will clear the air as and when”, he tweeted.
“We’ve entered a whole new paradigm with the Balakote air strike. The post-Uri strike was to avenge our losses, Balakote was a preemptive strike to prevent an imminent JeM attack. Totally new ballgame" tweeted Omar Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
"A number of firsts from Balakote, the two most obvious are the first time air power has been used to strike inside Pakistan during peace times (last time in 1971 was during the war) & first time visible, acknowledged use of force to preempt a perceived terror strike”, he added.
"The problem now becomes PM Imran Khan’s commitment to his country - Pakistan will not think about responding, Pakistan WILL respond. What shape will response take? Where will the response be? Will India have to respond to Pakistan’s response?" Omar Abdullah later said.
Earlier in the morning, Abdullah had tweeted saying, “If this is Balakote in KPK it’s a major incursion and a significant strike by IAF planes. However, if it’s Balakote in Poonch sector, along the LoC it’s a largely symbolic strike because at this time of the year forward launch pads and militant camps are empty and non-functional.”
BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav clarified that it was Balakot in Manshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “By the way no doubts about which Balakot it was; it is the one in Manshera dist of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”, he tweeted.
Meanwhile, hours after IAF struck terror camps across the Line of Control, former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti hoped that the objective of both sides (India and Pakistan) has been served.
“Post-pre-dawn strikes carried out by IAF, conflicting reports coming in. Official communique by FS claims that terror training camps were bombed while Pak denied this and said that the planes made a hasty retreat after being spotted. Hope objective of both sides has been served”, Mehbooba tweeted.
Jammu and Kashmir state BJP president Ravinder Raina said, "We have avenged Pulwama. There are reports of 1000 terrorists and ISI people have been eliminated. We have bled Pakistan. We have hit them in their home."
Airstrikes notwithstanding, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids at nine places including the residences of top Hurriyat leaders in Srinagar on Tuesday morning.
NIA sleuths conducted raids on JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik’s residence at Maisuma and Moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq at Nigeen as well.
Malik is currently under police detention.
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 "Nervous Srinagar glued to TV, internet after air strikes")
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