Balakot Airstrikes, CDS And Military Modernisation indiatoday.in

India’s doctrinal policy shift in combating terror by carrying out the Balakot airstrikes inside Pakistan, the appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff and hastening work on military modernisation marked a new beginning in 2019 in dealing with complex security challenges. The strike by India’s warplanes on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist training camp in Pakistan on February 26 to avenge the killing of 40 paramilitary personnel in Kashmir and the Pakistani Air Force’s subsequent retaliation the next day triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The most visible face of the confrontation was Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman whose capture by Pakistan after downing his MiG-21 fighter triggered the most serious military crisis between the two neighbours in decades.