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HomeDefenceHow Afghan intel helped India carry out the Balakot air strike

How Afghan intel helped India carry out the Balakot air strike

Human resource assets of Afghan intelligence operating in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan gave initial inputs following which India zeroed in on the target.

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New Delhi: It was pinpointed inputs about new terrorists coming to the Balakot camp by ground assets of the Afghanistan intelligence network that helped India to zero down on the target in response to the Pulwama terror attack.

Sources said India’s technical intelligence agency, National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), got into the picture only after this input and carried out its own surveillance of the terror centre.

They added that the initial inputs came from the human resource assets of the Afghan intelligence operating in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan.

Following the Pulwama attack, Pakistan military had shut down the terror launchpads near the Line of Control and the training centres.


Also read: One year of Pulwama attack: All suspects dead, no clue still how explosives reached Kashmir


This was primarily done fearing a possible repeat of the 2016 surgical strike.

“Of the terrorists who were pulled back, many made their way to the Balakot camp, movement of which was picked up by human intelligence networks,” another source said.

This was the initial tip-off that helped the Indian establishment to zero in on the target.

Sources separately said what worked in favour of the Balakot being shortlisted as the target was that it was on a hilltop and away from civilian population, meaning there would be no collateral damage.

A total of 16 aircraft, six each armed with Spice 2000 and Crystal Maze missiles, flew into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on 26 February 2019 and attacked the camp.

Last year, ThePrint had accessed classified high-resolution military satellite images procured from friendly countries, which showed at least two Jaish-e-Mohammed structures were hit by the Indian Air Force in Balakot.

The images show small black holes on the roof of two of the targeted buildings that appeared to be the entry points of the penetrating bombs.


Also read: Inside story of attack on Balakot — from IAF officer who planned and executed it


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9 COMMENTS

  1. Enough lies from print and electronic media from India.
    Don’t be so shameless. People in the whole world are quite informative and knowledgeable, so dont give your bullshit explanations of fake air strikes.
    Except few trees and a crow, the world has not seen a single drop of blood in anywhere I’m that place of balakot.
    Yeah, the world witnessed the Indian airforce pilot being captured after ruthrusly beaten and blooded by local nationalist of pak and mig21 and Su31 , mi 17, burning all over the places of both kashmir.
    So don’t be so shameless and don’t try to beat truth with your own cooked lies and strories.
    Already the world has recognisez that the indian media is always in production of fake news and stories.
    That is universal truth.

  2. Well said. Hope people of both the countries reason out the difference and live in peace and improve their standards rather than fall in the trap of power hungry selfish politicians in both side.

  3. We should seriously consider president Trump`s offer over Kashmir, in reality no country can take the other part by force, if tried then millions will die, we have exhausted all the options in the last 70 years, tried all means, but facts on the ground remained the same, politicians of both countries using this issue for political gains by inciting the fear inside their countries Specially india, which became the home of hate speech, lynching & arson.
    Please stop this madness and come to the negotiation table, my hope rest on a lot of great indians who believe in secularism and are in big numbers and people of pakistan are also tired of this drama from the last 70 years, we want free trade, open borders, same culture which is the building and the united block of a nation.if you really believe in Akhand Bharat then unite the hearts of the people by letting them know each other by visiting other’s country that ustaraf bhi hum jaisay loog hain. jo love bollywood movies, all weedings have same rules, please stand up and stop it, best to my knowledge not a single hindu killed or lynched in pakistan, no hate speech given by pakistani politician to fire up the situation,pakistan worked very hard to putt all non state actors in check. and india should stop hate speech,

    • I Think you are not well aware of the critical situations of Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan. The young girls are forcefully converted and abducted for marriage. They are raped, mobbed and Lynched in almost every part of Pakistan
      Want Proof, Here it is

      https://theprint.in/world/cleric-in-pakistan-who-solemnised-marriage-of-2-hindu-minor-girls-arrested/211030/?amp

      One more:
      https://www.financialexpress.com/world-news/pakistan-hindu-girl-abducted-from-wedding-ceremony-forcibly-converted-to-islam-and-married-to-muslim-man/1838080/lite/

      There are many more cases go and read those cases, these are countless and it is happening everyday in Pakistan. And to give you some reality checks, go check the population census report of Pakistan, the minority population has been decreased drastically from the partition. Whereas, in India the minority population has been increased ten times from the partition. That’s why to safeguard these minority people of Pakistan, the Indian govt has proposed the CAA. But what to tell you Indians are not only understanding the moral importance of this bill. PS: INDIA IS TRULY A SECULAR COUNTRY BUT STILL SOME NATIVES OF THIS COUNTRY DON’T UNDERSTAND THIS FACT

      And you told about peace, India has always been a country which has always adopted the ideology of peace and harmony. But Pakistan, who funds terrorism and always spread violence and terrorism in India. How you can expect to Indian leaders to not give hate speech. India has tolerated the terrorism of Pakistan from many years. Take example of 26/11 attacks of Mumbai where hundreds of Indians were killed, Parliament attacks, Kandahar hijacking, Udhampur attacks. But then also we tried to resolve these matter by bilateral talks. But not more, this new India will hit harder to terrorism if again it tries to hit India. We have sacrificed many lives from many years but not more. The Pakistan’s whole economy is spent in funding terrorism. And I made it clean and clear to you we Indians don’t have any hate towards the Pakistanis but we hate and strictly oppose the terrorism which is spread to India by Pakistan government. We know that people of Pakistan does not hate Indians we also don’t hate them. Our problem is with the Government or Army which spreads terrorism. And stop blaming Indians and the Indian government.
      We have always showed love and affection to Pakistani talents in India like Atif Aslam, Fawad khan, Mahira Khan, Adnan Sami and also given chance to work in our such popular cinema industry by not giving chance to many of the Indian talents to industry. Then how you can tell Indians spread hate to Pakistan.
      I am proud of my nation, my Constitution and my government

      • Rochdale, Rotherham, Derby, Oxford. The towns change, but the pattern is always the same. Gangs of men, mainly of Pakistani Muslim heritage, lure white girls as young as 10 with gifts and displays of affection. Next, the girl is raped as a way of “breaking her in”. Once the child’s spirit is subdued, and her mind fogged with drugs, she is sold for sex to multiple men at £200 a time. If the girl tries to break away, a gang member might threaten to behead her or firebomb her home. The Telegraph, London
        .

      • When we look at the numbers, men involved in grooming underage girls on the streets we find that of the 18 child sexual exploitation trials since 1997 – in Derby, Leeds, Blackpool, Blackburn, Rotherham, Sheffield, Rochdale, Oldham and Birmingham, most of those convicted were of Pakistani heritage.

        Figures compiled by The Times also show that of the 56 people found guilty of crimes of rape, child abduction, indecent assault and sex with a child, 53 were Asians of which 50 were Muslim and a majority were British Pakistanis whilst most of the victims were white.

        The judge, Gerald Clifton who sentenced the gang also gave credence to the existence of ‘cultural implications’ when he said: “All of you treated the victims as though they were worthless and beyond respect and you did that because they were not a part of your community or religion.”

      • It is clear that the CAA is totally ineffective as far as Pak based minorities go. How can we give citizenship to someone resident there ? The CAA itself mentions 2014 as a cut off date. Even if someone escapes from Pak today and comes here, they don’t qualify . And that;s according to Amit Shah and not me !

    • Hindus must be secular and Muslims must be Muslims. Pakistan should have the right to export terrorism to India and India should never say a word like Congress did in the preceding years. Pakistanis are a fountain of peace known for their harmonious behaviour the world over.

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