New Delhi:
Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar’s brother Maulana Ammar has blown the lid on Pakistan’s lie about Indian Air Force’s February 26 air strike in Balakot. In an audio message, which was posted on Twitter by Pakistani journalist Taha Siddiqui, the Jaish terrorist brazenly admits that Indian jets hit a school of Jihad in Balakot. A Times of India report said that the voice in the audio clip is that of Maulana Ammar. He was reportedly addressing a gathering in Peshawar on February 28, two days after the surgical strike. The Jaish commander also said that by returning Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Pakistan has turned its ‘victory into defeat.’
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#Exclusive: In a sermon in #Pakistan, #JaisheMohammad leader accepts Indian planes were targeting their center in #Balakot. He criticizes @ImranKhanPTI for releasing #IndianAirForce pilot #Abhinandhan. He also calls Pakistanis for joining #jihad in Indian-administered #Kashmir pic.twitter.com/j4pQ4WG96T
— Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) March 2, 2019
Addressing the congregation, Ammar said that the Indian planes crossed over and entered Pakistan to destroy the school of Jihad, where ‘students’ learned to help their ‘Kashmiri Muslim brothers.’ “By coming into our area like this, India has ensure that we start a Jihad against it,†Ammar said. Talking about the IAF pilot, Ammar equated it with Pakistan’s surrender in 1971 war. He said that by releasing Wn Cdr Abhinandan, the Imran Khan government has turned its victory into defeat.
Earlier, an Indian Express report had said that at least four buildings inside the Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp in Balakot were hit by Indian missiles. The Indian Express quoted a source as saying that intelligence agencies have evidence, in the form of imagery from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), showing that the four buildings, identified as targets, were hit by five S-2000 precision-guided munition (PGM) fired from IAF’s Mirage-2000 fighter jets. The missiles hit inside the campus of Madrasa Taleem-ul-Quran run by Jaish which is located on the same ridge line as the hilltop, a few hundred metres to the east, according to the Indian Express report. Earlier, Pakistan confirmed that the area was hit by IAF jets. However, it has so far denied any damage.
 “Why did the Pakistan Army seal the madrasa after the strike? Why did it not allow journalists to visit the madrasa? We have evidence in the form of SAR imagery to show that a building used as a guest house, where brother of Maulana Masood Azhar used to stay; an L-shaped building where trainers used to stay; a double-storied building used to house students entering the seminary and another building where those undergoing final combat training used to stay, were hit by the bombs,†The Indian Express quoted an official as saying.
 ‘It is for the political leadership to decide if it wants to release that imagery and make public what is a ‘classified’ capability. The SAR images are not as clear as satellite pictures and we couldn’t get a good satellite picture on Tuesday because of heavy clouds. That would have settled the debate,†the official added.
The Indian Air Force carried out pre-dawn airstrikes on February 26 and destroyed major launch pads of the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed, which was behind the February 14 Pulwama terror attack. The initial reports suggested that the ‘Surgical Strike 2.0’ decimated Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Alpha 3 Control Rooms located in Balakot, Muzaffarabad and Chakothi in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. More than 10 bombs were dropped by the multi-role fighter jet Mirage 2000 at around 3:30 am on February 26 morning. Understandably, Pakistan has downplayed the airstrike. The aerial attack came day after Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a high-level meeting with all three service chiefs.
