The 14th of February 2019 proved to be extremely devastating for India. More than 40 CRPF personnel traveling in a large convoy were martyred in a suicide explosion conducted by the Jaish e Mohammed recruits, both within Kashmir Valley and from Pakistan. The attack triggered massive outrage throughout the nation, as they demanded effective retribution for the same.
Now, 12 days after the dastardly attack, the revenge has been taken, and in style. A squadron of 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets took off from Indian airbases and struck deep into the Pakistani territory, destroying terror launchpads situated in Balakot, Chakoti and Muzaffarabad, through airstrikes deep into Pakistani territory.
According to the foreign secretary of India Shri Vijay Gokhale, the action was taken after credible intelligence sources confirmed that the mentioned launchpads were planning a large scale fidayeen attack throughout India. Not only were the terror launchpads destroyed, the top tier control rooms of the Jaish e Muhammad were also reduced to smithereens in the attack. At least 200-300 terrorists are reported to have been killed in this action.
Now, it turns out that the entire airstrike was not only destructive, but also quick and efficient. According to confirmed reports by ANI, the retaliation began at 3:30 a.m., and was over within 21 minutes. According to reports made by OneIndia, several aircrafts took off from airbases connected to the Central Air Command and Western Air Command respectively, which was aimed to confuse Pakistan. They couldn’t ascertain as to where the strikes would take place as multiple aircrafts took at the same time.
Moreover, the reports further added that the operation was one hell of a risk. Ever since the Pulwama attack happened, the IAF had moved several of its aircrafts near the border areas. The Mirage jets were also flown to the Adampur air base near Jalandhar from its original location at the Gwalior air base.
To quote the OneIndia report, “The first target to be hit was at Balakot at 3.45 am. The second strike was at Muzaffarabad at 3.48 am. The final strike was at Chakothi at 3.58 am. Sources say that the biggest hit was at Balakot as it was a key Jaish-e-Mohammad camp. It houses nearly 300 terrorists, most of whom had been moved from PoK after the Pulwama attack.”
Reports have even surfaced that a similar IAF operation on Pakistan was proposed right after the 26/11 attacks to the UPA government. But for reasons best known to them, this plan never actually became a reality. This only goes to prove that our brave Indian Air Force is never incapable of doing anything, only a strong political will was needed to let them do their job in their own sweet way. The fact that the IAF took less than half an hour to annihilate some of the most dreaded terrorists without any trouble also holds testament to their power. We hope that they continue to protect us in every way possible.