Balakot air strike was certain to happen, excellent operation: Ex-Army chief

Ex-Army Chief General Bikram Singh on Tuesday hailed the Indian Air Force (IAF) for carrying out multiple air strikes at Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and said that it was certain to happen.

"It is an excellent operation that has been undertaken. It was certain it'll happen, it was writing on the wall as PM had announced it. We've seen that earlier; when PM announced after Uri, we went in for surgical strike 1. This is surgical strike 2," said Gen Singh.

He also said that this action will send a correct message to Pakistan as well as to the terrorists that "no more mischief will be tolerated".

Touching upon the strategic significance of the chosen targets, Singh said: "The target that has been selected is very much in Pakistan, it is not in PoK. It is the expression of our interest and our resolve."

The IAF on Tuesday attacked JeM's terror camp in Balakot area. The JeM had claimed responsibility for attacking a convoy of CRPF personnel in which 40 security force men were killed in Pulwama on February 14.