Pakistan, India give diverging statements about attack on hydropower dam

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• India 'deliberately targeted' Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project in Pakistan-administered Kashmir during its airstrikes on Wednesday, which also hit several areas in Pakistan, says Islamabad
• 'India has only targeted the terrorist infrastructure... If such a claim is used as a pretext to target similar Indian infrastructure, Pakistan will be solely responsible for the unavoidable consequences,' says New Delhi

ISLAMABAD

Pakistan and India on Thursday issued diverging statements about the attack on a hydropower project in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

According to Islamabad, India "deliberately targeted" the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project in Pakistan-administered Kashmir during its airstrikes on Wednesday, which also hit several areas in Pakistan.

Lieutenant General (retired) Sajjad Ghani, the head of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), paid a visit to the dam site on Thursday and was briefed by local officials on the situation there.

"Indian shelling, which started at 1:15 a.m. (2015GMT) on May 7, continued for about six hours till 7:15 a.m. (0215GMT). Consequently, hydraulic power unit 1 of the intake gates was damaged in addition to the reinforced concrete structure at De-sander 1 and 3. Residential camp was also targeted, including ambulance and medical facility," the WAPDA said in a statement.

The Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project was completed in 2018 on the Neelum River in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

"The action assumes significance in the context of India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty and the attendant rhetoric about water flows to Pakistan," Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told Islamabad-based foreign diplomats late Wednesday, according to the Foreign Ministry.

However, New Delhi on Thursday rejected Islamabad's statement.

"India has only targeted the terrorist infrastructure... If such a claim is used as a pretext to target similar Indian infrastructure, Pakistan will be solely responsible for the unavoidable consequences," Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters in New Delhi.

The hydropower project contributes 19.562 billion units of green and clean electricity to the National Grid, according to the WAPDA.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated this week after India announced “Operation Sindoor” late Tuesday night, saying it struck “terrorist infrastructure" at nine locations in Pakistan. Indian officials said New Delhi exercised its “right to respond and pre-empt as well as deter more such cross-border attacks.”

Pakistan said at least 31 people were killed and 57 others injured in India's "Operation Sindoor" and cross-border firing. Officials said forces shot down five Indian fighter jets after the missile strikes and vowed to retaliate.

According to the Indian Defense Ministry, at least 16 people were killed in cross-border firing along the Line of Control (LoC) -- a de facto border that divides the disputed Himalayan region between the two arch rivals -- in Indian-administered Kashmir

Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan and India claimed to have shot down each other's drones, with some being hit in densely populated cities during overnight attacks.

Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Pakistan's military spokesman, said in a press conference that Pakistani forces destroyed 29 Israel-made Harop drones fired by India overnight, calling it a "serious provocation." He said the attacks killed three civilians and injured four Pakistani soldiers.