Just to be clear: #Balakot is not in Azad Kashmir. If Indian Air Force planes dropped payload in Balakot, they cr… https://t.co/mpwfxuEd6e — Mosharraf Zaidi (@mosharrafzaidi) 1551150172000

NEW DELHI: It wasn’t a question of whether India will strike back or not, but of when and the timing of the attack.Indian Air Force targeted JeM, LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen training camps around 330am on Tuesday. The public anger after the terror attack in Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF jawans on February 14 had put immense pressure on the Narendra Modi government to act. As per reports, IAF dropped 1,000 kg bombs on targets in Balakot , Muzafarrabad and Chakoti completely destroying many terror camps. The Pakistani Army has confirmed that Indian Air Force violated Line of Control in Muzafarabad sector.Live: Many terrorists killed in IAF strike on JeM camp at Balakot in PakAfter Pulwama, it was clear that a covert ground attack by Indian forces was virtually ruled out. Pakistan had made it amply clear that they were ready for any surgical strikes like the one carried out by Indian forces on seven terrorist launch pads across Line of Control (LoC) on September 29, 2016. While one awaits full details and official confirmation, the strike at Balakot which falls in Khyber Pakhtunwala province of Pakistan has huge significance. This is perhaps the first time Indian forces have gone beyond the LoC and struck deep inside Pakistan territory in the recent past.Even if this is the other Balakot which falls in Poonch sector along the LoC, it is the first time that IAF jets have crossed the LoC since the 1971 war. During the 1999 Kargil war, the IAF, while bombing terror outposts took care not to cross the LoC. Also, with the 2016 surgical strikes, the Modi government is the first to make such surgical strikes public. Previous governments too have retaliated but preferred to keep them under wraps from the larger public.One must commend the Indian forces for not just having caught Pakistani Army off-guard but also for ensuring their coordinated attacks targeted only terror camps while avoiding civilian casualties. As both sides take stock of the situations, India had already put its defence mechanism and air bases in Jamnagar, Maliya, Ahmedabad and Vadodara in high alert and ready position.