Pakistan is planning to lodge a complaint against India at the United Nations for alleged “eco-terrorism” after air strikes damaged pine trees in the country’s territory, reported Reuters.
According to the news agency, Pakistan Climate Change Minister Malik Amin Aslam accused India of destroying their “forest reserves.”
He added that the Imran Khan government is undertaking an environmental assessment and will approach the UN and other forums, based on it.
“What happened over there is environmental terrorism,” Aslam told Reuters. “There has been serious environmental damage,” he said, adding that dozens of pine trees were felled.
Tensions between the two countries escalated after Indian fighters bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot deep inside Pakistan on Tuesday, 26 February.
It came 12 days after the JeM claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir, killing 40 personnel of the paramilitary force.
Amid hostilities, IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan after an aerial combat, arrived in India via the Wagah border on Friday, 1 March.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced a day before that Islamabad will release the pilot as a "gesture of peace."
(With inputs from Reuters, PTI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)