Indian Army Chief, General Bipin Rawat during a press conference said that Pakistan has recently re-activated the Balakot terrorist launchpad. The launchpad was targetted by Indian Air Force (IAF) jets which flew into the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region.
The launchpad was bombed by the IAF in retaliation to the Suicide Attack in Pulwama earlier this year which martyred 40 CRPF soldiers. The action had strained the ties between India and Pakistan. According to a report in ANI, the Army chief said, ” Obviously that shows that Balakot was affected and damaged and destroyed.”
After the airstrikes on Balakot, Pakistan Air Force Jets had violated the Indian Air Space and forced to leave after a swift action by the Indian Air Force failed their objective. During the attempt, a Mig-21 of the IAF was lost and claims of a Pakistan Air Force F-16 downed started to surface. Wing Commander Abhinandan had then parachuted into the Pok and held captive by Pakistani authorities.
India has been concerned about attempts of infiltration by militants. The consistent ceasefire violations at the India Pakistan border has escalated over the past few months. According to the report in ANI, General Bipin Rawat said that it is an attempt by the Pakistani forces to facilitate the terrorists in their infiltration attempts.
The Army Chief further said that the Indian Army has been proactive in the situation and positions itself in order to foil the attempts.
Jammu and Kashmir had recently lost its special status after the abrogation of Article 370 which had caused a state of worry in the country. The communication lines which were frozen had now been open. The Army chief said that the only communication blackout is between the terrorists in Kashmir and their handlers in Pakistan.
On the lines of securing the borders of India, the General reaffirmed the fact that the focus has been to secure the border and the intelligence community has been able to provide actionable intel in order to foil any attempts to infiltrate and spread terror in the valley.