JABA: The madrasa run by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) at the Balakot site hit by the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter planes appears to be still standing with no visible damage, says news agency Reuters.
Reuters team allegedly viewed the madrasa from 100 meters away. However, they could not access it as Pakistani officials prevented a Reuters team from climbing hills citing security concerns.
As per one of the villagers, the madrasa is no longer active. It was closed in the month of June last year, said another villager.
The agency had claimed that at least six buildings were visible on the site on March 4, six days after the air strike, and that the image was virtually identical to an April 2018 satellite photo of the facility.
It may be mentioned that twelve days after a JeM suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF troopers, India said it had struck the JeM’s biggest training camp at Balakot killing “a very large number” of terrorists and their trainers.
While Pakistan admitted that the IAF planes struck Balakot, it claimed that they returned when it scrambled its war planes and that there were no losses on the ground. However, IAF chief B.S. Dhanoa said the IAF planes had hit their target.