New Delhi, February 26: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the three military chiefs hours after the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a pre-dawn strike at the "largest Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camp" in Pakistan's Balakot. The Air Force, Naval and Army heads apprised Modi of India's war-preparedness in wake of the soaring tensions with Islamabad.
Official sources, while speaking to news agency PTI, said Modi congratulated the service chiefs, particularly Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa for the successful operation. 'Fictitious'; 'Deserves Retaliation': Pakistan's Reaction to 'Surgical Strikes 2' Smacks of Contradiction.
Separately, the three chiefs met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and discussed overall preparation of the forces to deal with any eventualities, the sources said.
The air strike on the JeM terrorist training camp in Balakot, 80 km from the Line of Control, was the first operation inside Pakistan by India since the 1971 war.
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Sections of the Indian media have claimed that upto 300 militants were killed in what they have termed as "surgical strike 2". Pakistan has, however, denied sustaining casualties.
"Indian aircrafts’ intrusion across LoC in Muzafarabad sector within AJ&K was 3-4 miles. Under forced hasty withdrawal aircrafts released payload which had free fall in open area. No infrastructure got hit, no casualties. Technical details and other important information to follow. (sic)," said the statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations, the Pakistan Army's communication wing, on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Modi issued a short public reaction on the IAF raids, saying that he wants to "assure his countrymen that the nation is in safe hands".
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 26, 2019 09:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).