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Today's Paper | November 19, 2024

Updated 01 Mar, 2019 07:02pm

Pakistan to lodge UN complaint against India for 'eco-terrorism' forest bombing

Pakistan plans to lodge a complaint against India at the United Nations, accusing it of "eco-terrorism" over air strikes that damaged pine trees and brought the nuclear-armed nations to blows, a government minister said on Friday according to a Reuters report.

Indian warplanes on Tuesday violated the Line of Control (LoC) and released a payload near the northern town of Balakot. While New Delhi initially claimed it killed hundreds of "terrorists", it failed to provide any evidence.

Pakistan denied there were any such camps in the area and locals said only one elderly villager was hurt.

Climate Change Minister Malik Amin Aslam said Indian jets bombed a "forest reserve" and the government was undertaking an environmental impact assessment, which will be the basis a complaint at the United Nations and other forums.

"What happened over there is environmental terrorism," Aslam told Reuters, adding that dozens of pine trees had been felled. "There has been serious environmental damage."

Two Reuters reporters who visited the site of the bombings, where four large craters could be seen, said up to 15 pine trees had been brought down by the blasts. Villagers dismissed Indian claims that hundreds of militants were killed.

Read the Reuters report by Drazen Jorgic here.

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