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    Indian Air Force Avenges Jaish-e-Mohammed Suicide Bombing, Pakistan Says Jets 'Violated Territorial Sovereignty'

    IANS, 26 Feb, 2019 07:12 PM

      In a chilling message to Pakistan that it cannot keep messing with India, the IAF bombed the Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp killing "a very large number" of terrorists and their trainers in a pre-dawn operation on Tuesday -- exactly 12 days after a JeM suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF troopers in the Kashmir Valley.

       

      Speaking publicly for the first time after the IAF attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a public rally at Churu in Rajasthan that "today is a historic day" but made no reference to Pakistan or JeM whose suicide bombing at Pulwama on February 14 sent New Delhi-Islamabad ties on a nose-dive.

       

      Within hours, a furious Pakistan threatened a "befitting response". Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called a meeting on Wednesday of the National Command Authority, which controls the country's nuclear arsenal.

       
       
       
       

      After initially insisting that the Indian action took place in that part of Kashmir it controls, Pakistani military authorities finally admitted that the IAF had hit Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 195 km from Islamabad and over 40 km from Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

       

      It was the first time the IAF had crossed into Pakistan after the 1971 war.

       

      The Indian Air Force used Mirage 2000 fighter jets for the precision strike, and official sources said the aircraft spent 21 minutes in Pakistani air space -- a remarkable feat as one minute is equal to 17 km at attack speed.

       
       

       
       

      The fighter jets were backed by Emb 145 early warning plane which was deployed to pick up any emerging threat at a large distance and alert the attacking pilots. India also used a mid-air refueller.

       

      The Mirage 2000 fires a range of Western weapons. After the upgrade, the Mirages have Mica air-to-air multi-mission missiles and a range of precision guided bombs including Israeli Spice.

       
       
       
       

      As celebrations erupted across India, Foreign Secretary Vijay K. Gokhale said: "India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jehadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated.

       

      "This facility at Balakot was headed by Maulana Yusuf Azhar (alias Ustad Ghouri), the brother-in-law of (JeM leader) Masood Azhar."

       
       

      Gokhale said the Indian government was "firmly and resolutely committed to taking all necessary measures to fight the menace of terrorism. Hence, this non-military pre-emptive action was specifically targeted at the JeM camp. The selection of the target was also conditioned by our desire to avoid civilian casualties."

       

      He said that such "massive training facilities capable of training hundreds of jehadis could not have functioned without the knowledge of Pakistani authorities...

       
       
       
       

      "Credible intelligence was received that the JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of (India), and the fidayeen jehadis were being trained for this purpose. In the face of this imminent danger, a pre-emptive strike became absolutely necessary."

       

      Following the attack, India has heightened vigil along its border with Pakistan.

       

      After presiding over a meeting of the National Security Council, Prime Minister Khan asked the armed forces and people to prepare "for all eventualities".

       
       
       
       

      "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 election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk," said an official statement.

       

      Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi warned that Islamabad has "the right to self-defence and (give) a befitting response".

       
       

      Later, Pakistan's Foreign Office summoned India's Acting High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia and issued a demarche against the "aggression" and the violation of its airspace.

       

      Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said earlier that the Indian intrusion took place in "AJK" (Azad Jammu Kashmir), close to the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir between the two countries.

       
       

      "Under forced hasty withdrawal the aircraft released payload which had free fall in an open area. No infrastructure got hit, no casualties," he said following an uproar in Pakistan about Indian jets flying deep into its territory.

       

      Tuesday's attack came after a JeM suicide bomber killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. It was the worst attack on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir at one go since militancy erupted in 1989.

       
       
       
       
       

      JAI HIND: B-TOWN SALUTES IAFFOR STRIKES ACROSS LOC

       

      The Indian film fraternity lauded the Indian Air Force (IAF) strike on Pakistan terror camps on Tuesday morning with full fervour, saluting the bravery of the real-life heroes who carried out the mission.

       

      Days after a suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF troopers in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, on February 14, India on early Tuesday struck the Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp at Balakote in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, killing a large number of terrorists and their trainers.

       
       

      A slew of Bollywood celebrities took to social media to share slogans and sentiments of pride.

       
       

      Sonakshi Sinha, Suniel Shetty, Sonu Sood, Vivek Oberoi, Tusshar Kapoor and Yami Gautam tweeted: "Jai hind".

       

      Here's what other celebrities wrote:

       

      Lata Mangeshkar: Jai Hind, Jai Hind ki sena (soldiers).

       
       

      Rajinikanth: Bravo India

       
       

      Kamal Haasan: Our 12 return safely home after wreaking havoc on terrorist camps in Pakistan. India is proud of its heroes. I salute their valour.

       
       

      Akshay Kumar: Proud of our Indian Air Force fighters for destroying terror camps! Quiet no more! India Strikes Back.

       

      Anupam Kher: Today will be a good day to start saluting Prime Minister Narendra Modi too. Bharat Mata Ki Jai.

       
       

      Raveena Tandon: What an explosive morning! As India celebrates! I salute the 12 bravehearts for meting out justice for our Pulwama boys! Our neighbours often complain of being victims of terrorism themselves. They need to thank us.

       
       
       

      Ajay Devgn: Mess with the best, die like the rest. Salute Indian Air Force.

       
       

      Preity Zinta: Killing a terrorist today saves many many innocent lives tomorrow. I salute the Indian Air force for making this possible by destroying the terror camps across the border.

       
       

      Tamannaah Bhatia: Super proud of the Indian Air Force! I salute this act of bravery!

       
       

      Rahul Dholakia: You are fighting to protect and save us by destroying and finishing terror camps - Thank You IAF. Jai Hind.

       
       

      Rannvijay Singha: Experts say this attack by IAF to destroy the terror camps across the POK are of high degree of precision and very strategically planned and were successfully executed. Indian Air Force.

       
       

      Madhur Bhandarkar: Salute to the daredevil IAF pilots who braved to strike in the heart of our enemy. It's time for all Indians to stand united as one.

       

      Aftab Shivdasani: So proud of the Indian Air Force for the precise and befitting reply to reach the perpetrators a lesson. This is a new age India. Jai Hind.

       
       

      Jackky Bhagnani: A great sight and a great thought. Here stands the National War Memorial to pay a tribute to all the brave hearts. Jai Hind!

       

      Parvin Dabas: Jai Hind... fully support the direct annihilation of terrorist camps, you can run but you can't hide.

       
       
       
       

      'JOSH' IS HIGH: FILM DIALOGUES GO VIRAL AS INDIA HITS PAKISTAN TERROR CAMPS

       

      "How's the josh? High sir!" -- the social media world was replete with Bollywood film dialogues which Indian netizens used to thump their chest with pride after Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets struck terror launch pads in Pakistan administered Kashmir (PoK) on Tuesday.

       

      The IAF struck the biggest training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) at Balakot in Pakistan just days after a suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF troopers in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, India.

       
       

      Moments after the news broke on the Internet, several users on Twitter used the popular dialogue "How's the josh?" from the latest release "Uri: The Surgical Strike", a cinematic take on what went behind the surgical strikes that India conducted on terror camps in Pakistan in 2016, just days after terrorists from Pakistan attacked a military base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir leaving 19 Indian soldiers dead.

       
       

      Whether it was "How's the josh?" to a modified "How's the Jaish..." -- referring to the terror group JeM -- social media users got innovative as they dug out popular dialogues.

       

      Bollywood producer and photographer Atul Kasbekar tweeted: "How's the Jaish... 'Dead sir'."

       

      Some Twitteratis used the "Chak De! India" tagline from the 2007 Shah Rukh Khan-starrer sports drama, to cheer the IAF for the achievement.

       
       

      There were memes for the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy too.

       
       

      Some social media users used the hook line "Apna time aayega" from actor Ranveer Singh's latest film based on Indian underground rappers. What the users meant was that after the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force showed their "josh", the Indian Navy is waiting for their chance.

       
       

      A user tweeted: "Indian Army and Indian Air Force says 'hows the josh', but Indian Navy says 'Apna time aayega'."

       

      Another wrote: "First Army, second IAF, Indian Navy -- 'Apna time aayega'. Surgical strike 2."

       
       

      Another dialogue doing the rounds from the hit war film "Border", wherein actor Suniel Shetty made a poignant point.

       

      "Hum toh kisi doosre ki dharti par nazar bhi nahi dalte. Lekin itne nalayak bachche bhi nahi hai ki koi hamari dharti Maa par nazar daale aur hum chup chaap dekhte rahein. (We don't look at someone else's land. But we are not so foolish that we let others violate our Motherland and we watch it in silence)."

       
       
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