New Delhi: Remember Balakot… well Friday is second anniversary of the occasion when Indian fighter jets struck destroying terrorist camps at the place. This was in retaliation to the terror attack February 14, 2019 in Pulwama in which more than 40 CRPF jawans were killed. The terrorists involved in the blast were allegedly linked to the Pakistan-supported Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit.
India struck back quickly and efficiently. At 3.45am February 26, 2019, the then Air Chief BS Dhanoa made a telephone call to National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval on a special RAX number. RAX is an ultra-secure fixed-line network. “The monkey has been killed,” Dhanoa said in Hindi. “Bandar mara gaya,” was the exact phrase Dhanoa used.
The message was meant to convey that the JeM training camp at Balakot in Pakistan had been destroyed by Indian fighter jets. It was a daring pre-dawn operation across the border carried out very early in the morning. It has been alleged that more than 250 terrorists were killed in the strike.
Dhanoa also made similar calls to then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Secretary (RAW) Anil Dhasmana. Doval informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the development.
Also read: Pak minister boasts about Imran’s role in Pulwama attack
Two years down the line, more and more information is appearing on various sites about the details of the operation carried out by India.
A number of officials who were behind the planning of the operation have said that the code name ‘Bandar’ was deliberately chosen. This was done to confuse Pakistani intelligence. It was done so that Pakistan would think that by ‘Bandar’, India was referring to the terror group’s chief Masood Azhar.
Ahead of the strike, and in keeping with this deception, a posse of Indian fighters was scrambled in the Rajasthan sector. The aim was to force the Pakistan Air Force move all its assets to intercept the Indians over the skies of Bhawalpur. As a result, when IAF’s upgraded Mirage 2000 fighters released their ‘Spice 2000’ 90 kilogram penetrator bombs, the closest Pakistani aircraft was 150 kilometres away. IAF deliberately chose February 26 as D-day; it was the last quarter of the full moon. According to the officials, all five bombs struck home at 3.30am IST or 3.00 am Pakistani time.