New Delhi:
Speaking on government’s action post-Pulwama attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that he personally told the armed forces to make a plan to attack terrorist camps in Pakistan. ‘I told the armed forces to make a plan, enough is enough. I had given them complete freedom,’ PM Modi said in an exclusive interview to Republic Bharat. He further added that he was fully involved during the Balakot airstrike.
Slamming the opposition parties for casting aspersions on Balakot attack, PM Modi said, ‘they see statesmanship in Pakistan PM's statements and they doubt their own PM. The people should recognise these people.’
When asked about Pakistan PM’s charge that he doesn’t take his calls, PM Modi said that Pakistan has always assured that they will take decisive action, but they didn't and therefore he now doesn’t want to fall into their (Pakistan's) traps anymore.
‘Our fight is not with the people of Pakistan, our fight is with terrorism,’ PM Modi added.
The Indian Air Force struck at Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest terrorist training camp at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, using 12 Mirage 2000 aircraft supported by a fleet of Sukhoi 30 jets, a mid-air refueller and two Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), official sources said.
They said all the bases of the IAF have been put on maximum alert to deal with any possible retaliation by Islamabad to the strike, the first by the IAF inside Pakistan after the 1971 war.
The sources said the IAF jets used a number of laser-guided bombs, each weighing over 1,000 kg, to destroy the the JeM training facility in Balakot, around 80 KM from the Line of Control. The operation began around 3:45 AM and concluded by 4:05 AM while the actual strike lasted for less than two minutes. The aircraft took off from a number of bases, they said.
