Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Malik Amin Aslam on Friday said his government is considering accusing India of eco-terrorism in a complaint at the United Nations, Reuters reported. Aslam told the news agency that Indian Air Force jets bombed a “forest reserve” and damaged dozens of pine trees.
The minister said the Imran Khan-led government will conduct an environmental impact assessment, which will form the basis of Pakistan’s complaint. “What happened over there is environmental terrorism,” Aslam said. “There has been serious environmental damage.”
Tension between the two countries have escalated in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack on February 14. On February 26, the Indian Air Force carried out air strikes at a camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan on Tuesday morning. India called the operation a “non-military, counter-terror preemptive action”, and said it had eliminated “a large number” of terror operatives.
Two Reuters reporters who visited the site of the bombings reported seeing four large craters and up to 15 damaged pine trees.
On February 27, Pakistan claimed that its Air Force had struck “non-military” targets across the Line of Control in a show of its capability, and had shot down two Indian aircraft that tried to respond. India said it had shot down a Pakistani jet that tried to target military installations. A pilot of the Indian Air Force was taken in custody by Pakistan and is expected to reach India by Friday evening.
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