Today is Pulwama Day. Today is the sixth anniversary of the Pulwama terror attack that shook the country. A suicide bomber rammed a car loaded with explosives into a convoy of CRPF jawans, killing 40 jawans.
Six years ago, on February 14, 2019, a terrorist attack took place on a vehicle carrying CRPF jawans in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir. The attack involved a car laden with explosives ramming into an army convoy that was heading from Jammu to Srinagar. The car and the bus were blown apart in the massive blast. 40 jawans lost their lives. The terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack.
India’s retaliation came 12 days after the attack in Balakot, Pakistan. The Indian army responded by crossing the Line of Control (LoC) and destroying terrorist training camps in Pakistan through an airstrike called Operation Bandar. This was the first airstrike by India in Pakistan since the 1971 war. Reports say that hundreds of terrorists were killed in Operation Bandar.
The day after the Balakot airstrike, Pakistani fighter jets entered Indian airspace targeting military installations. Indian fighter pilots retaliated strongly. During the retaliatory action, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by the Pakistani army. Abhinandan Varthaman was safely returned as requested by India. Later, Varthaman was promoted to the rank of captain and awarded the Vir Chakra.
