India's approach in dealing with terrorism has undergone a major change as its armed forces now do not hesitate to cross the border to protect the country against the menace, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on the first anniversary of the Balakot air strike.
A fleet of Indian Air Force aircraft had bombed a terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan on February 26 last year as a pre-emptive strike after getting specific intelligence inputs about a possible terror attack in India emanating from the terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot.
Just days earlier, on February 14, 2019, 40 Indian soldiers were killed in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed admitted to carrying out the suicide terror attack.
Entering Pakistani territory and carrying out the Balakot air strike marked a paradigm shift in India's counter-terror operations and strategy.
"I thank the Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi for bringing change in India's approach against terrorism & our ways to counter terror," the Defence Minister tweeted.
"The Surgical Strikes of 2016 (in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) and Balakote Air Strikes of 2019 (inside Pakistan) are testimony to this change. This is certainly a New and Confident India in making," Mr Singh said in a series of tweets.
"Safeguarding India's Border Will Remain Topmost Priority": Rajnath Singh Telangana Chief Minister Questions Balakot Airstrike, BJP Strikes Back "BJP Not Against Muslims, Islamic Nations Honoured PM Modi": Rajnath Singh What Trump Rally Shooter Did On Last Day Of His Life Trainee IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Called Cops Home, Spoke For 2 Hours "Demand Of Every Patriotic Indian Is...": Rahul Gandhi On Doda Terror Attack Paytm Rapped By Markets Regulator Over Transactions With Banking Subsidiary Supreme Court Gets 2 New Judges, Its First From Manipur Adani Green's Innovative Projects Advancing India's Zero-Emission Goal: US Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.