No Pakistani soldier or citizen died in the air strike on a terror camp at Balakot in Pakistan in February, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on April 18, reports The New Indian Express. She said in Ahmedabad that Indian military was given a "free hand" in the operation but was clearly told that no Pakistani citizen should be killed and also there be "not be even a scratch" on the Pakistani army. "Our armed forces were told to target only Jaish-e- Mohammed which was behind the Pulwama terror attack and they did just that - destroyed their camp and returned," the senior BJP leader said.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) had struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror training camp in Pakistan on February 26, in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed. Swaraj said the air strike was carried out in self-defence. "When we carried out the air strike, we had told the international community that we took the step only in self- defence," she said. She said the entire international community supported India over the air strike.