Even a month after the Indian Air Force's air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammad training camps in Balakot, the Pakistan army continues to protect the area, according to a senior government official. The entire area around the terror camp was found to be secured by soldiers of Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force stationed in the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
With an aim to refute India's claims, Pakistan army's Interstate Public Relation (ISPR) division took journalists to the airstrike site. Sources in the intelligence agencies claim that, on Thursday, a group of media personnel were taken to the Balakot site where they were allowed to meet 375 children of Markaz Syed Ahmed Shaheed 'madarsa'. Sources further said that the group of journalists were taken to the area by a military chopper and were even allowed to videograph the location.
"The media group was there between 10:00am and 03:30pm, where they were guarded by officials from the Pakistan army, along with the Frontier Corps wing. It is an attempt to create a new cycle of narrative to counter India's claims of Balakot," an Indian official said.
Indian intelligence and security agencies are also curious about the timing of the media visit. "Media was allowed entry only a month after the incident. It raises doubts of the intention of the Pakistan army, which had not allowed any media personnel earlier despite repeated requests by international media," another official pointed out.
This development happened in the backdrop of visit of delegation of Paris-based Financial Action Task Force in Islamabad, which found high non-compliance rates on recommendations against money laundering and terror financing. A delegation of experts from the Asia Pacific Group had arrived on Monday to review whether Pakistan has made enough progress on global standards against financial crimes. Financial Action Task Force has already grey-listed Pakistan from June 2018, and it is believed that any adverse findings by the Asia Pacific Group could further complicate problems for the Pakistan government.
