Ajay Singh

On 14 February 2019 – Valentine’s Day – a Kashmiri youth Ahmad Dar slammed an explosive laden SUV into a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy at Pulwama, killing over 40. It was the deadliest attack on Indian security forces and the smoking gun pointed directly to Pakistan.

Retaliation was swift. Just 13 days later on the night of 26 February, 12 Mirage 2000s armed with SPICE and Popeye precision munitions crossed the Line of Control (LC) and headed for Balakot in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They were part of a strike package supported by four Sukhoi 30s, Netra and Phalcon AWACS, a Heron UAV and two Ilushin -78 aerial refuellers. To act as a decoy, four other Sukhois had been launched towards Bahawalpur in South Punjab (deliberately flying high to be seen by Pakistani radars). The low flying formation of Mirages roared into Pakistani airspace undetected, acquired their target and loosened their munitions onto it.

The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camp at Balakot (the Markaz Syed Ahmad Shaheed Camp to use its real name) was on the crest of a ridge called Jaba Top. Spread over eight acres of land, it contained ten major buildings. Five SPICE bombs struck their target at around 3.45 am – a time which ensured maximum surprise. Three hit the main residential complex where around 80-100 recruits were reportedly staying, another hit the main building which housed the core leadership and the fifth hits the trainers’ complex. The entire strike took just eight minutes and by the time Pakistan fighters took off to intercept them, the Mirages were back in Indian airspace.

The jury is still out as to the effect of the strike. Indian sources claim that around 100–150 militants were killed, while the Pakistanis maintain that the casualties were restricted to just ‘some trees and a crow’. The exact damage would be so