Pulwama attack fifth anniversary: A day that no Indian could forget

Pulwama attack fifth anniversary: India commemorates the fifth anniversary of the terror attack which occurred on February 14, 2019. India lost its 40 brave soldiers that day

Today is the fifth anniversary of the terror attack on Indian soldiers in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. Around 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers lost their lives in the attack. The convoy of CRPF was passing through Pulwama when a suicide bomber from Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) hit the vehicle full of explosives into a convoy. However, India took its revenge when the Indian Air Force bombed the JeM camps in Balakot, Pakistan, killing hundreds of terrorists. 

Due to this terror attack, India marks February 14 as 'Black Friday.'

Suicide Bomber Attack

The terror attack took place on February 14, 2019, when a convoy of 78 buses with around 2500 paramilitary personnel were travelling to Srinagar from Kashmir when a vehicle full of explosives rammed into a bus killing 40 CRPF soldiers of the 76th battalion at around 3:15 pm.

As per reports, the car was carrying over 300 kilograms of explosives, including 80 kilograms of RDX. After the incident, JeM released a video claiming responsibility for the attack. The suicide bomber was identified as Adil Ahmad Dar, a 22-year-old resident of the Pulwama district of south Kashmir.

How did India react after the terror attack?

The attack evoked intense reactions from the nation and the Indian government condemned the terror attack and accused Pakistan of giving full freedom to Masood Azhar who led JeM to operate in its country. The MEA statement also mentioned that Masood Azhar was given full freedom by Pakistan and expanded his terror infrastructure.  

India also demanded Pakistan to stop supporting terrorists operating from their territory and dismantle terror infrastructure in their land. Pakistan denied these claims.

The attack resulted in a 200 per cent hike in customs duty on all the Pakistani goods. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave full freedom to security forces to decide the time and place for all future actions. PM Modi also mentioned in his speech that terrorists have made a huge mistake and will have to pay the price.

Operation Bandar

Indian security forces started a counterattack called 'Operation Bandar' which was carried out on February 26, 2019. India took revenge for the Pulwama attack in the Balakot region at JeM camps in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. India entered 50 km from the Line of Control where the Indian Air Force (IAF) sent Israel-made "smart bombs" and 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets that killed hundreds of terrorists. This was India's first assault carried out by India in Pakistan post-1971 war.