Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had informed Pakistan about the Balakot airstrikes even before the news of the attack was broken to the media in India.
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Addressing a rally in Karnataka’s Bagalkot on Monday, PM Narendra Modi said he doesn’t believe in attacking from the back and fights openly face-to-face. He said he had asked the forces to inform the media about the airstrike but postponed the disclosure until he managed to inform Pakistan about the strikes and the destruction caused to the enemies.
“I had asked the forces to call the media and inform them, but I said before that I would inform Pakistan through telephone about airstrikes at night and the destruction caused, but Pakistan people did not come on the phone. So I asked forces to wait, and after informing them, we later disclosed to the world about airstrikes that happened during the night,” news agency PTI quoted Modi as saying.
Further, the prime minister warned the infiltrators that “this is Naya Bharat (New India), ghar mein ghus kar ke maarega (kills inside one’s (enemy) territory)”.
Also Read: ‘Cong was prepared to put blame for 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks on holy saffron’: PM Modi in Pune
In another rally in Maharashtra’s Pune, Modi accused the Congress of coining the theory of ‘saffron terrorism’, alleging that the grand old party was prepared to put the blame for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks on ‘holy saffron’.
On November 26, 2008, 10 terrorists belonging to Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out coordinated attacks in Mumbai, the biggest ever on Indian soil. At least 166 people were killed and more than 300 injured in the terror attack.
Also Read: Balakot ops showed offensive power can be used under nuclear overhang: IAF chief
Balakot airstrike:
The airstrikes against the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror base were India’s response to the Pulwama suicide attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed on February 14, 2019. Twelve days later, the IAF’s Mirage fighter jets hit three targets in Balakot, with five Israeli-origin Spice 2000 bombs with penetrator warheads that allowed them to pierce through the rooftops before exploding inside to cause maximum damage.
(With inputs from PTI)