India's former External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on Thursday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the "surgical" air strike on terror camps in Pakistan by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday.
"I compliment you (Modi) for the bold and decisive step to smash the terror camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) at Balakot in Pakistan through surgical air strike. It was long overdue," said the 85-year-old in a letter, he shared with IANS.
He said "by smashing the terror camps, we have avenged the cowardly attack" on February 14 that killed 40 CRPF troopers in Kashmir's Pulwama district.
Mr Krishna said the pre-emptive strike made millions of Indians walk the talk with pride.
"By targeting only the terror hideouts, training camps and not touching the civilian, military or commercial establishments, India under your visionary leadership demonstrated that we are a mature nation, capable of taking decisions based on merits," the letter to PM Modi read.
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