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.

Opinion

Editorial

Impending slaughter
Updated 07 May, 2024

Impending slaughter

Seven months into the slaughter, there are no signs of hope.
Wheat investigation
07 May, 2024

Wheat investigation

THE Shehbaz Sharif government is in a sort of Catch-22 situation regarding the alleged wheat import scandal. It is...
Naila’s feat
07 May, 2024

Naila’s feat

IN an inspirational message from the base camp of Nepal’s Mount Makalu, Pakistani mountaineer Naila Kiani stressed...
Plugging the gap
06 May, 2024

Plugging the gap

IN Pakistan, bias begins at birth for the girl child as discriminatory norms, orthodox attitudes and poverty impede...
Terrains of dread
Updated 06 May, 2024

Terrains of dread

Restored faith in the police is unachievable without political commitment and interprovincial support.
Appointment rules
Updated 06 May, 2024

Appointment rules

If the judiciary had the power to self-regulate, it ought to have exercised it instead of involving the legislature.