4 Years of Pulwama Attack: From Balakot Airstrike to Fears of Nuclear War

The deadly Pulwama terror attack drew a scathing response from across the country calling for India’s retribution for the killing. Here are 10 points to know about one of the deadliest terror attacks in Kashmir.

-A terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy of about 78 vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama on 14 February 2019. 40 soldiers were martyred in this terrorist attack. The attack took place in Lethapora in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Remembering the sacrifices of CRPF jawans, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed on the Pulwama terror attack on Tuesday. Taking to Twitter, the PM said, “Remembering our brave heroes whom we lost on this day in Pulwama.”

The terrorist attack filled the country with anger and gave rise to a nationwide demand for action against the terrorists and the country that harbors them, i.e. Pakistan.

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In response to the terrorist attack in Kashmir, the Indian Air Force conducted an air strike on the terrorist camp in Balakot area of ​​Pakistan. In this attack, India has claimed to have killed many terrorists.

Pakistan also carried out airstrikes the next day, during which MIG-21 fighter jet pilot Abhinandan Varthaman shot down an F-16 of Pakistan’s PAF. However, his fighter jet crashed and he landed in Pakistani territory. Apart from the MiG-21 crash, another Indian Air Force aircraft crashed near Budgam in Srinagar that day.

Captive, IAF officer, Abhinandan Varthaman was taken by the Pakistani Army after his plane crashed in Pakistani territory. He was later interrogated by the army and handed over to India within a week. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was later awarded the Kirti Chakra, the third highest gallantry award.

Apart from the Balakot airstrike, India reacted to the deadly terrorist attack by withdrawing the Most Favored Nation (MFN) status from Pakistan. It also urged the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering to include Pakistan in its ‘Black List’, resulting in the debt-ridden country now being included in FATF’s Gray List.

India’s retaliatory action in response to the attack received overwhelming support from Indians. However, it was a big question as to how such a huge quantity of explosives managed to escape the security in the area and was used to carry out the attack. A 12-member team of the National Investigation Agency was formed to investigate in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

-Under preliminary investigation, the car was loaded with over 300 kg (60 lb) of explosives, including 80 kg of RDX. The NIA named a total of 19 accused in its charge sheet and was able to identify the assailant. But the source of the explosive could not be revealed in the investigation.

Mentioning about the Balakot air strike episode in his book, former US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said that he spoke to his then Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj, who informed him that Pakistan was planning to launch a nuclear strike against India. is preparing “I don’t think the world knows exactly how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over into a nuclear explosion in February 2019. The truth is, I don’t even know the exact answer; I know it was very close,” Pompeo writes.