India will not hesitate to cross the border in dealing terrorism, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Balakot air strikes. The IAF jets on this day bombed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan in retaliation against the killing of 40 Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF) men in a suicide attack in Pulwama on February 14.
In his tweet message to mark the anniversary, the defence minister said India's approach in dealing with terrorism has undergone a major change as its armed forces now do not hesitate to cross the border to protect the country against the menace.
"I thank the Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi for bringing change in India's approach against terrorism & our ways to counter terror. The Surgical Strikes of 2016 and Balakote Air Strikes of 2019 are testimony to this change. This is certainly a New and Confident India in making," Singh said in a series of tweets.
He also said "India today celebrates the first anniversary of Balakote airstrikes.
It was a successful counter terror operation launched by the fearless @IAF_MCC air warriors," Singh tweeted.
He said the Modi government has adopted a new approach to combat terror reflecting a strong resolve to even carry out cross border strikes to protect India from the scourge of terrorism.
For his part, Air chief Marshal RKS Bhadoria flew a MIG 21 sortie of squadron 51 at Srinagar base. This squadron had taken part in the dog fight with Pak F 16s on Feb 27, a day after the Balakot strikes.
On September 29, 2016, the Army carried out surgical strikes on a number of terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir in retaliation to an attack on its base in Uri that month.
A fleet of Mirage jets on February 26 early morning last year carried out aerial strikes against the JeM terrorist camp in Balakot. The next day Pakistan Air Force retaliated by crossing the Line of Control(LOC) in Rajouri and Poonch to target military installations.
However, the IAF jets thwarted the attempt and in the ensuing aerial battle one F-16 was downed by a Mig-21 flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. During the aerial combat, his plane was hit by ground fire from Pakistan and he had to eject. The Pakistan Army captured him after his parachute landed across the LOC.
The IAF pilot returned to India three days later following diplomatic outreach by major powers and India's stern warning to Islamabad led to his release after two days, averting further escalation of the conflict.
It was the first time since the 1971 India-Pakistan war that the IAF jets crossed the LOC thereby signaling a doctrinal change in India's counter-terror approach as the strike was carried out deep inside Pakistan.