4 reasons why this Indian Air Force action is different

Indian government has confirmed it carried out preemptive strikes against terror training camps in Pakistan, reports The Times of India. 

Here are four reasons why this strike marks a paradigm shift in India’s response to Pakistan on terror. 

Firstly, India’s foreign secretary has confirmed India struck the biggest training camp of Jaish e Mohammed (JeM) in Balakot in the early hours on Tuesday. This is unlike the previous strikes because it is for the first time in recent times that India has struck deep inside Pakistan territory.

Earlier, the focus would be mostly along the LoC to hit terror targets. A very large number of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders are believed to have been eliminated in this strike. This includes Maulana Yousuf Azhar (alias Ustad Ghouri), the brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar. 

Secondly, this is the first time Indian Air Force (IAF) has crossed the LoC to hit terror training camps in Pakistan. The last time such an attack took place was during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Even during the 1999 Kargil war, IAF jets pounded terror locations but took care not to cross the LoC under any circumstances. Pakistan Army too has acknowledged the airspace violation in Muzafarabad sector. 

Thirdly, this is a huge embarrassment for Pakistan’s Army that Indian forces crossed their airspace and left after eliminating terror training camps. Just last Friday, Pakistan Army’s spokesperson Maj Gen Ghafoor had said, “Pakistan armed forces will never be surprised by you. But let me assure you, we shall surprise you”. Despite all their claims, they will still have to answer how IAF planes crossed, struck targets and went back without being challenged by Pakistan. 

Fourthly, till now India’s stand on dealing with Pakistan on terror was more about surgical strikes in LoC and creating international pressure on Pakistan to take action against non-state actors. This is for the first time in many decades that India has taken the fight right into Pakistan territory. The strike at Balakot is ample proof that the Modi government will not think twice before carrying out such attacks again if the need so arises. The Pakistani establishment needs to ‘awaken’ themselves to the new rules of engagement with India.