Pakistani forces put on high alert, India bent on disturbing regional peace, says Shah Mehmood Qureshi

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday said Pakistan's armed forces are on alert and are capable of defending every nook and corner of the country. The Indian Air Force carried out pre-dawn airstrikes on Tuesday and destroyed major launch pads of terrorists in Balakot in PoK. More than 10 bombs were dropped by the multi-role fighter jet Mirage 2000 at around 3:30 am in the morning. "Clouds of danger are lingering over Pakistan and we can see aggression," Shah Mehmood Qureshi said. "An aggressive segment is bent on risking regional peace for its political gains," he added. "Indian leadership has become flustered in trying to achieve its political gains," Geo News quoted Qureshi as saying.

Qureshi further said, "We are a responsible nation and have to move forward responsibly, wisely and patiently."

Stating that Prime Minister Imran Khan is up to date with "minute-by-minute details", the foreign minister said, "I will hold a meeting with the prime minister and brief him regarding the consultative meeting to be held at the Foreign Office."

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"In the meeting at FO, I will brief the participants regarding Pakistan's viewpoint." Qureshi has summoned an emergency consultative meeting at the Foreign Office following a breach of the LoC by Indian military aircraft.

The aerial attack comes a day after Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a high-level meeting with all three service chiefs.

Defence experts say that Mirages would have used 500 kg laser-guided bombs. The Mirage 2000s may have used Israeli lightening laser designator pods to drop their precision bombs. Though Pakistan has tweeted the photos of large craters, the actual impact of the airstrike will be revealed by the satellite images. 

There are unverified reports that many residents of Srinagar heard planes hovering over the city all night. In terms of geography, while Muzaffarabad and Chakothi are located in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, the fact is Balakot is located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. If the targets of the airstrikes are confirmed, this means that India has hit locations deep into Pakistan and not PoK. Balakot is about 50 miles from the ceasefire border known as the “line of control” based on lines established after the first war the two countries fought over Kashmir shortly after independence in 1947.