| Even wives of IAF pilots knew nothing | | Balakot Airstrikes, Pulwama avenged | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 27: The airstrikes deep inside Pakistan at Balakot-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist-training camp was a 100% successful operation. Even the wives of IAF pilots, who conducted the operation in just 90 seconds, knew nothing about the operation. They came to know the splendid feat of the IAF only after the operation was over.
Reports from New Delhi said that the "Indian Air Force (IAF), after meticulous planning and using diversionary tactics, carried out an air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot and the entire operation was over within 90 second". "The mission was planned with air-tight security to ensure there was no leak of information and even family members of the pilots who were part of the predawn operation on 26 February did not know about it," reports further said.
It was after the February 14 Pulwama attack that had martyred 40 CRPF jawans, the Marendra Modi government gave the go-ahead to IAF. As a result, the Mirage 2000 fighters destroyed the JeM camp in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's province.
This was for the first time in 48 years (1971 India-Pakistan War) that the IAF had entered Pakistani airspace to carry out strikes to avenge the killing of 40 troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on 14 February.
Reports emanating from New Delhi said: "One of the Mirage 2000 pilots who carried out the deep strike said, 'It was over in 90 seconds; we released the weapon and we turned back and no one, not even my close family knew." "The IAF pilot asked not to be named. This is the first time the pilots involved in the air strike have spoken to the media," the reports said.
"Next day, when news broke, my wife asked me whether I was part of the attack. I kept quiet and slept off," one of the pilots was quoted as saying.
The Pakistani Air Force (PAF) was caught napping when the IAF fighters struck Balakot. Before the PAF could scramble its fighters, IAF's Mirage 2000s were back to safety.
The very next day, Pakistan attempted to strike Indian military installations in J&K, but the IAF managed to chase away the enemy fighters and shot down an F-16 of the PAF involved in the dog fight. In the process, India had lost a MiG-21 over Pakistan Occupied Jammu & Kashmir and Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was flying it, was captured by Pakistan's ground forces. |
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