Pulwama Attack of 14 February, 2019 left in which more than 44 soldiers were killed arose many questions. But, out of all it got the whole of India angry and the anger showed. Everyone wanted revenge. The terror group, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) took the responsibility of the attack and thus, it was enough a reason to get the whole nation angry. The citizens blamed Pakistan for having backed such terror groups.
Days after the attack, India in retaliation launched air strikes in Balakot over the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps. The Indian government had been blaming Pakistan militant group for allowing the terror group to operate on its ground which eventually led them to plan the complete Pulwama attack. India-Pakistan relations had been worse since the past years due to Kashmir issue.
Indian Air Force claimed to have launched air strikes on the Pakistani territory, but the Pakistan government retaliated by saying that the Indian planes were forced to go back without any severe casualties. Responding to India’s claim of Pakistan being involved in the terror attack of February 14, Pakistan said that they had no role to play.
Balakot is located in the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. People living near Balakot said that they heard the loud explosions. Pakistan has however condemned the attack and said that it would soon retaliate. The strikes were launched across the line of control- the de facto border diving India occupied Kashmir from Pakistan occupied Kashmir which was drawn during 1971.
India Air Strike: Reaction
The Indian Foreign Secretary, Vijay Gokhale said that the India troops had taken to avoid civilian casualty, but had killed several militants and destroyed the terror camps. He added, “Credible intel (intelligence) was received that JeM was planning more suicide attacks in India. In the face of imminent danger, a pre-emptive strike became absolutely necessary.”
Everyone has been praising the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi for carrying out such a risky task. However, he has not directly come up mentioning about the strikes. In a political rally in Rajasthan Modi added, “I understand your enthusiasm and your energy. Today is a day we bow before our heroes,” indirectly referring to the Air Strikes of 26 February.
Pakistan’s reaction
Pakistan has strongly denied the claim of supporting Jaish-e-Mohammad group and the terror attacks. After the air strikes, the Pakistani government strongly criticised the Indian government for taking such measures and stated that they had to take necessary steps to avoid any risk. They also denied the claims of the casualties caused.
In one of the interviews Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan called the attack to be “irresponsible Indian policy. Condemning the act he said, “Once again [the] Indian government has resorted to a self-serving, reckless and fictitious claim. This action has been done for domestic consumption, being in an election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk.
India dropped 1000kg explosives on the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp as a retaliation to recently happened Pulwama attacks. In the air strike launched by the Indian Air Force, several terrorists were killed and the camp totally destroyed.
