Pakistan registers FIR against Indian pilots for ‘bombing trees’

Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday lodged an FIR against the pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) for bombing and destroying trees in Balakot area of the country’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the media reported.

India on February 26 had bombed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed’s (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in retaliation to the February 14 Kashmir suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF troopers and was claimed by the terror group.

The FIR was filed by the Forestry Department against “unidentified IAF pilots” and also detailed the damage suffered by 19 trees after Indian aircraft “hastily dropped their payload”, the Express News reported.

Islamabad also plans to lodge a complaint against India at the UN, accusing New Delhi of “eco-terrorism”, the report said.

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 UN and other forums.

“What happened over there is environmental terrorism. There has been serious environmental damage,” Aslam said, adding dozens of pine trees fell in the area after the bombing.

IANS