Flies international media to the de facto border to make its case, after India said it penetrated up to 3 kilometres into Pakistan for the strike
A Pakistan army officer points out the Indian forward area posts to journalists at Bagsar post on the LoC. Pic/AFP
Mandhole: Pakistani military officials point to an Indian army post high on a forested ridge along the Line of Control dividing Kashmir, insisting any incursions are impossible, after skirmishes ignited dangerous tensions between the two countries.
The army took the rare step of flying international media to the de facto border to make its case in a battle of competing narratives, after India’s surgical strikes on terrorist bases in PoK. Pakistan has flatly denied the claim, saying two of its soldiers were killed but only in cross-border fire.
The helicopter tour took journalists to sectors just two kilometres from the dividing line, and near the locations India said it targeted in assaults on four militant camps.
On hand were senior local commanders as well as army spokesman Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa. “You can see the way the fortifications are built and the way Pakistan has layers of defence and they have layers of defence... the LoC cannot be violated,” he said. It was not possible to verify the general’s claims, though villagers who spoke with a second AFP reporter in the area independent of the military-guided trip were also incredulous.
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