Precision strike carried out by Mirage 2000s against a dummy target by the squadron that carried out the Balakot air strike on February 26, 2019, on the occasion of its second anniversary, on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021.
Modi Govt 8 years: Balakot Air Strike - 2019 and Surgical Strike - 2016 were two such military operations by the Modi government that forever changed enemies' perception of how India would act if it’s national interests are compromised through terror attacks or dirty games by its neighbours, particularly Pakistan.
India through these two operations warned Pakistan that New Delhi under Modi will not think twice in hitting back if provoked through dastardly terror acts.
The Modi government handled Pakistan with an iron fist conducting Surgical strike in 2016 and Air Strike in Balakot on terror launch pads in response to Pulwama and Uri attacks.
The military and Air Force operations showed how well India is capable of conducting anti-terror strikes across the border without worrying about international responses, putting its national interest and morale of its forces in mind first.
It also showed the world that India will care for nobody but only its national interest if provoked and pained. A big paradigm shift from the previous attitude when governments would first think about international ramifications if New Delhi uses force.
After the Balakot air strike, Pakistan was left in a position to neither accept it because that would have exposed that terror launch pads did exist on its soil and could not deny it as well because it did carry a face-saver operation and lost its F-16 and a pilot too.
The operation also boosted the morale of the Indian Armed Forces whose responses to terror activities were to be restricted just because of the lack of a political will, but Modi changed it forever.
Not only through military operations, Modi government's foreign policy also surrounded Pakistan by exposing its involvement in being an exporter of terrorism in the world on global platforms. Modi government made sure that the world should not forget that Pakistan is indeed a safe haven for terrorists.
The results of Modi's handling of Pakistan is that it has been isolated in the world, its image further deteriorated with FATF ban and nobody really cares when Islamabad raises the Kashmir issue.
The world is just no longer interested to care for Pakistan’s crying over Kashmir. The Modi government has been able to convince the world that India’s actions have to be trusted. The diplomacy and business have been put on indefinite halt unless Pakistan realised that it can’t just win any argument with New Delhi. It’s suffering and going to suffer more if it takes one ill step. Modi's government has ensured.
Balakot Air Strike
Place where India conducted air strike in Balakot.
The Balakot airstrike happened at around 3.30 am on February 26, 2019. Balakot Air Strike was the first such action carried out after the 1971 India-Pak war in repose to the Pulwama terror attack in which India lost 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans.
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IAF's 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and destroyed the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Balakot, Pakistan
The capture and release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman (Left), at the time when he was being returned to India after help captive by Pakistan in 2019.
Though Pakistan did hold Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman captive when Indian and Pakistani airforces indulged in a dog fight, however, New Delhi's no nonsense attitude ensured that he was back home within 24 hours.
What made Pakistan return the Indian soldier? To best explain this, let’s recall what PM Modi said when he was asked how did he bring back Abhinandan during India TV’s special show ‘Salaam India’. “Woh ek raat thi, jis raat mein kayi raaz the, use raaz hi rehno do," PM Modi had said.
Surgical Strike
Target of Indian forces during the surgical strike.
On September 28, 2016, India announced that it carried out a surgical strike against terrorist camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the terror attack at the Indian Army Base in Uri in which India lost 20 soldiers.
In an interview with ANI, PM Modi revealed that the surgical strikes were planned as there was a “rage” building up within him as well as the Army after soldiers were killed in the terror attack in Uri.
The Indian Army troops including the commandos from various units of the Para (Special Forces) units deployed in Jammu and Kashmir carried out raids across the PoK on multiple targets. All these targets were launch pads for terrorists for infiltrating into Jammu and Kashmir for carrying out attacks against military and civilian targets.
Both the operations of the armed forces were praised by the people and developed further trust in PM Modi as the leader of the nation who knows how to take care of India’s national interest.
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