New Delhi: India carried out Balakot strikes across the border to destroy terror launch pads before Pulwama-like attack could be planned by Pakistan, which has been continuously keeping a "sinister eye" on Jammu and Kashmir, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Wednesday.
In a message to the armed forces on the eve of the Independence Day, Singh also said that government was working "tirelessly" to achieve synergy and "jointness" among the three services. "Our neighbouring country is continuously keeping a sinister eye on J&K. It sends terrorists into our territory and disturbs peace in the Valley," he said. "On February 14, 40 brave jawans of CRPF were martyred in Pulwama in a suicide attack.Our Armed Forces hit back by destroying the terror launch pads with air strikes across the border in Pakistan before it could plan another Pulwama-like attack," he said.
Nearly two weeks after the Pulwama attack, IAF fighter jets bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot on February 26. Pakistan retaliated on February 27 by attempting to target Indian military installations. The defence minister said in new and emerging world, the battlefield is not going to be limited to land, air and sea but will also spread to space and cyber space. "Keeping this in mind, we successfully conducted an anti-satellite missile test 'Mission Shakti' on March 27 this year...With this, India joined a select group of nations, like USA, Russia and China which possess such a capability," Singh said.
At the same time, he reiterated that India's defence policy is for peace and stability at regional, continental and global level. "Since the Armed Forces are at the forefront of our nation's defence, I assure you that the government will do all that is necessary to keep your morale high and to meet your functional requirements," he said. "Under the able leadership of the Prime Minister, the armed forces are being rapidly modernised. We are working tirelessly to achieve his vision of 'jointness' among the three wings of the armed forces," Singh said.
In military terms, jointness is used to define cooperation and coordination between different wings of the military with tri-Service execution. The defence minister also mentioned about the Army carrying out summer trials of third Generation anti-tank guided missile NAG. He said this third-generation "fire and forget class" missile has been developed to engage highly fortified enemy tanks in all weather conditions with day and night capabilities. Singh also talked about the IAF successfully test firing the BrahMos air version missile from its frontline Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft in May.
