"I salute the exceptional courage and diligence of the Indian Air Force," Rajnath Singh tweeted
On the second anniversary of Balakot air strikes, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday saluted the exceptional courage and diligence of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and said "the success of strikes has shown India's strong will to act against terrorism".
"On the anniversary of Balakot Air Strikes, I salute the exceptional courage and diligence of the Indian Air Force. The success of Balakot strikes has shown India's strong will to act against terrorism. We are proud of our Armed Forces who keep India safe and secure," the Defence Minister tweeted.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Indian Air Force (IAF) had again made clear the policies of New India against terrorism by responding to the Pulwama terror attack.
"On this day in 2019, the Indian Air Force had again made clear the policies of New India against terrorism by responding to the Pulwama terror attack," the Home Minister tweeted.
Mr Shah also paid homage to the martyrs of the Pulwama attack and said the country and its soldiers are safe under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"I remember the martyrs of the Pulwama attack and salute to the courage of IAF for air strikes. The country and its soldiers are safe under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he tweeted in Hindi.
On February 14, Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) targeted a CRPF convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway near Pulwama in South Kashmir killing 40 CPRF personnel.
Days later IAF launched an air-strike on a JeM camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
The air-strike was launched in the early hours of February 26 and Pakistan's efforts to launch an offensive the next day to target Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir was thwarted by an alert IAF.
In the dogfight, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, flying a MiG-21 Bison fighter plane and chasing Pakistani jets, crossed over to PoK where his aircraft was shot down. He was taken into custody by Pakistan. India also shot down a Pakistani fighter jet.