During the surgical strikes, reports said as many as 35-40 terrorists and nine Pakistani soldiers were killed and seven terror launch pads were destroyed. (Source: Twitter/ Narendra Modi

As surgical strikes by Indian soldiers on terror launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir win praises for Prime Minister Narendra Modi by countrymen, details have emerged when the PM had decided to avenge the Uri attack by Pakistani terrorists.

Eighteen Indian soldiers were killed in the attack by four terrorists reportedly belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad, a Pakistan-based terror group at Uri in Kashmir on September 18. In retaliation, India didn’t immediately launch an attack on terror networks operating from Pakistan, even as a nationwide clamor for avenging the Uri attack reached a fever-pitch.

Instead, India embarked on a policy to globally expose Pakistan as a terror state, give the notorious neighbour enough opportunity to accept its guilt and strike in a way that would not only shock the enemy but also leave it with nothing to raise a war cry in front of the international community.

Now it has emerged that the preparations for all of this under PM Modi started just a day after the Uri attack. Times of India reports that PM Modi decided to abandon the posture of strategic restraint, which India has practiced till now vis-a-vis Pakistan, and authorised Army chief DS Suhag and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to “examine all feasible military option that could deliver an ‘effective response'”, during the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security on September 19.

After the Uri attack, the PM had publicly said that the terrorists would not go unpunished. However, as the days passed, the government started facing backlash for not taking actions. However, after getting a clear order from Modi, it took the Army 10 days to plan a fool-proof formal operation across the Line of control. India had never done so since 1971.

ToI reports that Army waited for the waning of the moon and crossed LoC two days before the new moon. The report says PM Modi didn’t want a war with Pakistan for its “act of aggression”, but the possibility of full-scale hostilities also didn’t work as a deterrent for him.

PM Modi did not react on the surgical strikes on Thursday, but he was reportedly very pleased with the successful operation. During the surgical strikes, reports said as many as 35-40 terrorists and nine Pakistani soldiers were killed and seven terror launch pads were destroyed.

On the night of the surgical strikes, ABP News reported that PM Modi didn’t even drink a drop of water and remained awake throughout the night. Next day as the country celebrated, he resumed duty like any normal day.