n the bombing, a militant from Jammu and Kashmir killed 40 Indian Central Reserve Police Force members inPulwama. The Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility, while Pakistan's government condemned the attack and denied any involvement.[21]
Reacting to the suicide attack, the Indian Air Force on 26 February violated theLine of Control (LOC) in Kashmir—for the first time since the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971—to conduct what it called "preemptive" aerial strikes that targeted a terrorist training camp and killed several militants.[12][22] Local residents[23] and the Pakistani military disputed India's claims about the strike, saying no one was killed nor was infrastructure damaged.[24]
Escalating the situation, India and Pakistan exchanged fire across the LOC on 26 and 27 February. Ten Indian soldiers were injured[5] while four Pakistani civilians were killed in the shelling.[25] On the latter day, Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Indian-administered Kashmir which caused no casualties or damage.[26]
Also on 27 February, Pakistan claimed that it had captured two pilots after shooting down two Indian jets over Pakistani airspace. India claimed that only one MiG-21 had been lost and demanded the release of the pilot. India also claimed to have shot down a Pakistani F-16, which Pakistan denied. Pakistan later clarified that only one Indian pilot, Abhinandan Varthaman, was captured, and he was subsequently released on 1 March.[6]
Background
India and Pakistan have long been at odds with the other, having engaged in several wars, conflicts, and military standoffs. The roots of continued tension are complex, but have centered mainly around the state of Jammu and Kashmir. After the 1947 Partition of India, the newly formed Pakistan and India squabbled over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, which turned into the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948. Partially at issue was the fact that the 1947 partition had not determined the final status of the princely state. The issue has proved intractable, leading tofurther war in 1965, as well as in 1971. Both nations are armed with nuclear weapons after developing them in the 1990s, which has had a sobering effect on subsequent conflict – such as the1999 Kargil War.[27]
Military events
Pulwama attack
Main article: 2019 Pulwama attack
The 2019 Indo-Pakistan military standoff is in reaction to[28] a terror attack in mid-February 2019, when a convoy of Central Reserve Police Forcecarrying security personnel on theJammu Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora (near Awantipora) in the Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Over 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and the perpetrator were killed in the attack, which Jaish-e-Mohammed took responsibility for. The attacker was identified as Adil Ahmad Dar, a militant from Jammu and Kashmir, and a member of Jaish-e-Mohammed.[29] This was the deadliest attack on Indian forces in Kashmir since 1989.[30]
Balakot airstrike
Main article: 2019 Balakot airstrike
On 26 February 2019, Indian Air Forceconducted airstrikes at Balakot in Pakistan. The strikes were subsequently claimed to be "non-military" and "preemptive" in nature; targeting a Jaish-e-Mohammed facility within Pakistan. The Indian government stated that the airstrike was in retaliation to thePulwama attack and that "a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis" were eliminated who were preparing for launching another suicide attack targeting Indian assets.[31]
Indian media claimed to have confirmed from official sources that twelve Mirage 2000 jets were involved in the operation and that they struck multiple militant camps in Balakot, Chakothi andMuzaffarabad operated by Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen,[32] killing about 350 militants. The exact figures varied across media-houses.[33]
Pakistani officials conceded the intrusion of Indian aircraft into its airspace but rejected the claimed results. It asserted that the Indian fleet was intercepted and that the payloads were dropped in unpopulated areas and resulted in no casualties or infrastructural damage.[24] Pervez Khattak, Pakistani Defence Minister, stated that the Pakistani Air Force did not retaliate at that time because "they could not gauge the extent of the damage".[34]
This airstrike was the first time since theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971 that aerial attacks had crossed the Line of Control.[35]
Villagers from the area claimed that four bombs struck a nearby forest and a field resulting in damage to a building and injuring a local man around 3:00 AM.[36][37] A team from Al Jazeera visited the site two days after the strikes and noted "splintered pine trees and rocks" which were strewn across the four blast craters. The local hospital officials and residents asserted that they did not come across any casualty or wounded people. The reporters located the facility,[33] a school run by Jaish-e-Mohammed, at around a kilometre to the east of one of the bomb craters, atop a steep ridge but were unable to access it.[38] Reporters from Reuters were denied access to the madrassa by the military but they noted the structure and its vicinity to be intact from the rear.[37]
Some diplomats and analysts have raised doubts about the efficacy of the strike, claiming that the terrorist groups along the border would have vacated the area, after the Indian Prime Minister vowed to retaliate against the Pulwama attack.[39] The local people varied as to the purpose of the facility.[38] Whilst some claimed its being an active Jaish training camp, others asserted it to have been a mere school for the local kids and that such militant camps had used to exist far earlier.[37][38] Satellite-data analysis by Nathan Ruser, from theAustralian Strategic Policy Institutenoted the absence of any apparent evidence to verify Indian claims.[33][40][41]
Vice-Marshal RGK Kapoor of Indian Air Force said on 28 February 2019 that though it was "premature" to provide details about the casualties, they had "fairly credible evidence" of the damage inflicted on the camp by the air strikes.[37]
Border skirmishes
Heavy skirmishes between Pakistani and Indian forces occurred along the Line of Control on 26 February, with small arms and mortar fire being exchanged.[42] Pakistani officials reported that at least four civilians were killed, and eleven were wounded.[43][44] A 55-year-old woman and her two children were killed in the Nakyal sector. In the Khuiratta sector, a 40-year-old woman was killed.[43]
Throughout 27 February, heavy exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani forces continued along theLine of Control.[45] Te
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