The Pakistani military has, if anything, proven its incompetence and that most glaringly. Twelve fighter jets from India crossed the border, went deep into enemy territory, rained laser-guided bombs of 1,000kg, and returned to their bases without any hindrance. Pakistani fighter jets scrambled, but failed to act. Now, if India can reach up to 50 miles inside undetected or unchallenged, the message is, it might go further inside and rain down bombs with more courage in future. The first time the Indian troops staged an incursion under directions from Prime Minister Modi, styled as surgical strikes, was into a five km distance in September, 2016. Now, four years later, the scope has been extended by 10 times. Both times, the Pakistani military has been caught napping. Its bluff has been called.
The extent of damage caused by this IAF action, styled as a pre-emptive strike based on intelligence inputs about terrorist plans to stage more attacks on India, stopped short of a serious military response. As foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale put it, no civilian was targeted and only the well-erected terror modules inside forests. Civilian areas were kept outside the purview of the IAF action. This is bound to put Pakistan in a serious predicament. For, Pakistan itself used to shout from roof-tops that it was a victim of terrorism in its soil. Now, it can be proposed to it that India helped eliminate at least a part of this network, run by Jaish e Mohammed and its notorious head Masood Azhar. This must be seen as a friendly gesture to the Pakistani establishment and its people.
Yet, Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was the first to come out with a threat Tuesday, saying his country would give a fitting reply to India. Fact is, Pakistan was using the terror modules to give more than a reply to India for long years, and without facing serious repercussions. What happened in the pre-dawn strike Tuesday might also not amount to much in terms of harm caused to Pakistan.
The Indian Air Force and Prime Minister Narendra Modi deserve praise for this retaliatory action done in a highly professional manner. Pakistan has now been put on notice. India has shown that it has the courage to act – something that was missing in the past. For the first time after 1971, fighter jets flew into Pakistan – and they acted as per script, and returned to their bases safely. Well done, IAF.