The outrage in the aftermath of the Pulwama
terror attacks on Feb 14th was unprecedented. Public anger was palpable.
The gruesome attack targeting the security personnel from across different
states of India brought the nation together like never before. Despite the anger
a nation of 1.3 billion was silently praying and fervently hoping retribution. Within
100 hours of Pulwama attacks, the masterminds of the suicidal attack Kamran
alias Ghazi Rasheed, chief commanding officer, recruiter and close aide of Masood
Azhar and two other Jaish operatives were killed in a joint encounter launched
by Jammu and Kashmir Police, Special Operations Group (SOG), CRPF and Rashtriya
Rifles (RR). In the combing operation that lasted several hours four security
personnel including a Major lost their lives. While the count of security
forces losing their lives in successive gun battles began to increase, India remained
resilient. Modi government which named Jaish-e-Mohammed for the suicidal attack
on the CRPF convoy promised extract revenge.
For decades India has been at the receiving end,
silently absorbing the nefarious aftershocks of Pakistan’s proxy war. Under
duress, Pakistani administration as a face-saver would promise to investigate
and nab perpetrators if provided an actionable intelligence. Despite Pakistan’s duplicity, India would
submit dossiers and letters of rogatory. While the piles of the dossiers catch dust,
Pakistan’s strategic assets would hatch yet another attack on India wreaking
havoc in India. This unending passive cycle of absence of punitive action from
India side has emboldened Pakistan. The surgical strikes carried out Indian Army
in the aftermath of the Uri attack, a departure from the past, set a new
precedent. But when Nagrota attacks remained unanswered, Pakistan resorted to its
old nefarious tricks.
The dastardly suicidal attack on security
personnel at Pulwama the worst terror attack till date miffed India terribly. Aside
plausible military action, India contemplated a slew of economic, diplomatic,
tactical and military measures. Days after Pulwama attack, India withdrew MFN (Most
Favoured Nation) status accorded to Pakistan, raised the import duty to 200% to
strangulate the economy reeling under financial distress. While people debated merit
of economic sanctions, Pakistan’s exports which included fertilisers and cement
are produced in Pakistani army-controlled factories. By choking trade, India
directly hit the funding sources of the terror operatives. By nipping bilateral
trade, a breather for sinking Pakistan’ economy thriving on meagre $13 billion just
enough for six weeks of exports was snapped thereby hitting Pakistan where it
hurts. India has decided to stop the flow of its share of water to Pakistan
from the Eastern rivers. Ranked as the third most water stressed nation in the
World according to latest IMF (International Monetary Fund) report, stalling
water will have grievous consequences. Diplomatically, India has apprised the
comity of nations of Pakistan’s proxy war. In a worst diplomatic embarrassment,
UNSC issued a statement, condemning the reprehensible act of terrorism of the
Pakistan based terror group JeM. Building a strong case for diplomatic
isolation in the aftermath of UNSC condemnation, France has agreed to move a
resolution at UNSC to impose ban on JeM and its commanders Masood Azhar’s brother-Abdul
Rauf Asghar, Ibrahim Athar and Shahid Latif accused in Pathankot attacks.
As a message to Pakistan, India intensified crackdown
on Pakistan sympathisers, Indian government revoked security cover of 155 Kashmiri
separatists. In anticipation of emergent circumstances, government detained Chairman
of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Yasin Malik and pro-Pakistan Jamaat-i-Islami
leaders and airlifted 100 companies of paramilitary forces. Simultaneously, NIA
raided the houses of JLKF leaders to unearth the hawala money trails between
these leaders and Pakistani agents.
Continuing with the multipronged action, on the thirteenth
day of Pulwama attacks Indians woke to be pleasantly surprised by the news of pre-dawn
attacks by India Air Force on the terror camps in Pakistan terror hubs. For the
first time since 1971 Indian forces entered Pakistan territory and conducted
aerial strikes. Even during the Kargil war, IAF didn’t cross the LoC. According
to official reports, 12 Mirage-2000 aircrafts took off from Agra and Gwalior with
a pay load of 1000kg launched strikes at terror camps of JeM, LeT and Hizbul Mujahedeen
in an operation that lasted 21 minutes. Jets struck Balakot around 3:45am, Muzaffarabad-3:48am
and Chakoti-3:58am. Mirage-2000 the
predecessor of Rafale and proven work horse of IAF played a crucial role in
tilting the fortunes of battles in favour of India during the Kargil war has
played a crucial in the current airstrikes. Upgraded Mirages with Laser-guided bombing
mechanism are chosen for avenging the Pulwama attacks.
The choice of Balakot, a town in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan, 50 km from LoC and 185km from Islamabad, a
veritable terror has historical significance as well. Balakot was home to Syed
Ahmad Barelvi, a strong proponent of Deoband ideology who aspired to establish
a caliphate challenging the authority of the flourishing Sikh Kingdom. The
armies of Maharaja Ranjit Singh defeated the Deoband forces in the battle of Balakot.
Situated atop of the hill top, Balakot harbour JeM training camp that offers aquatic
training to fidayeen squad.
Unlike in 2016, MEA issued a statement on strikes
on JeM training camps. Calling Pakistan’s bluff India claimed JeM, led by Masood
Azad which is operating from Bahwalpur in Pakistan has been carrying out terror
strikes against India for the past two decades including the Pulwama attacks,
Pathankot airbase strike and 2001 Parliament attacks. Despite providing requisite
details about the terror organisation and its functioning Pakistan refused to
take concrete steps to dismantle terror infrastructure on its soil. Having received
credible intelligence reports of JeM plotting suicide terror attacks in India,
in face of imminent threat, India launched “pre-emptive” “non-military” strikes
on the terror training camps in Pakistan. Defending India’s right to
self-defence under UN charter, New Delhi indicated that Balakot training camp
led by the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar, Maulana Yousuf Azhar was flattened. In
the process, all the trainers, recruits and commanders of JeM were also killed.
Asserting its firm resolution to take stringent actions to curb the menace of
terror, India defended the strikes. India also reminded that Pakistan promised
not to allow its territory for terrorism against India in 2004. But unfortunately,
even now the unabated terror emanating from Pakistan continues to consume India’s
peace and harmony.
India’s audacious retaliation is a stern warning
to Pakistan that New Delhi will not only make noise at international forum but
would extract revenge at the time and place of its choosing. By irresolutely destroying
camps inside Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (Muzaffarabad and
Chikote) India shunned its reluctance to cross borders for destroying the
terror hubs. By officially announcing India’s strikes on Pakistan terror camps,
New Delhi refused to take any cover and unequivocally displayed its zero-tolerance
approach towards terror. By taking the
bull by its horns, India showed that it can no longer be subdued into inaction
by Islamabad’s threat of use of nuclear weapons.
In a blow to Pakistan’s hubris which is reported
to be on high alert since Pulwama attacks in anticipation of Uri kind of surgical
strikes, IAF entered deep inside Pakistan territory and returned home unharmed.
IAFs precision strikes have not only reflected its professional prowess but its
supreme caution in avoiding civilian casualties sent out a clear message to the
World at large that India is a mature country. While Pakistan is scrambling for
options and is intent on extracting a revenging for entering its territory, India
don’t have any terror camps to hit. Any strikes on military camps will invite
international censure. Pakistan is in a catch-22 kind of situation where a
retaliatory attack on India will invite an international rebuke and a widespread
public ire if it fails to escalate. Besides, the confusing signals from
Pakistan of one fraction repudiating the strikes and another condemning them
exposed its ineptness in handling the situation.
Post-strikes, India is not complacent. Given
Pakistan’s history it will hit back at India to salvage it pride. To this end,
all airbases and military camps are kept under high alert. India’s multi-pronged
approach towards Pakistan suffice to say India doesn’t believe that a single
strike can change Pakistan. A panoply of coercive measures must be employed. The
veracity of strikes reflects the emergence of resurgent India. Though political
parties are shy of acknowledging the current dispensation for these audacious
strikes, it must be remembered that IAF offered similar strategy after 26/11 but
the UPA regime refused to bite the bullet. Similar strikes were contemplated
between 1981 and 1983 against Pakistan but these were never put in practice. After
the Cabinet Committee on Security Meeting on February 15th Modi
announced forces will be given free hand to strike the forces who orchestrated ghastly
Pulwama attacks. After twelve days Pulwama attack is avenged. With the
strategic air strikes, India deftly avoided a full-blown war, a scenario anticipated
by China. In a remarkable development, hours
after India’s official announcement of strikes on terror camps, Australia outrightly
condemned Pakistan for perpetrating terror and asked it to rein in on terror
outfits. Interestingly, neighbouring China the last country to condemn Pulwama
attacks has criticised India for taking unilateral action. Apart from shielding
Masood Azhar through repeated technical hold, Beijing said, “As for India’s claims on taking action
against terrorism, fighting terror is a global practice. It needs to be dealt
with international cooperation. And India needs to create a favourable
condition internationally for that”. This statement inadvertently reflects
China’s complicity in terror, aversion to call Pakistan’s bluff and its culpability
in Pakistan’s state sponsor terrorism.
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