It was February 2019 when India’s heart bled. The nation woke up to the horrifying news of the Pulwama attack—when a convoy of vehicles carrying Indian security personnel on the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway was ambushed by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber in the Pulwama district, killing 40 CRPF personnel.

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The citizens of the country demanded not just justice but a resounding retaliation. And India responded.

In the quiet hours of February 26, 2019, 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force roared across the Line of Control, piercing deep into Pakistan’s Balakot region. Their mission: to strike at the very roots of terror—Jaish-e-Mohammed’s sprawling training camps. It was bold, audacious, and historic.

India, armed with satellite imagery, intelligence reports, and eyewitness accounts, provided evidence of a successful strike that neutralised a significant number of terrorists.

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Also Read: OPERATION SINDOOR: Here's the list of sites in Pakistan, PoK attacked by India

Six years later, a deadly terror attack at the popular tourist area of Pahalgam in South Kashmir on Tuesday (April 22) left 26 dead and multiple others injured. The attack is one of the biggest on civilians and tourists in decades of terror violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

This time again the cry was loud and clear from the citizens of the country. 

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India’s answer? Operation Sindoor.

The Indian Armed Forces launched a series of targeted strikes under Operation Sindoor, hitting nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The sites were believed to be used for planning and directing terror attacks on India.

"India has launched #OperationSindoor, a precise and restrained response to the barbaric #PahalgamTerrorAttack that claimed 26 lives, including one Nepali citizen. Focused strikes were carried out on nine #terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, targeting the roots of cross-border terror planning. Importantly, no Pakistani military facilities were hit, reflecting India’s calibrated and non-escalatory approach. This operation underscores India’s resolve to hold perpetrators accountable while avoiding unnecessary provocation. A detailed briefing on the operation will follow later today," the Ministry of Defence posted on X.

The common thread?

Both strikes were results of provocation and powered by precision. Balakot showcased India’s willingness to break old molds—taking the fight deep into enemy territory through air power. Operation Sindoor reflected the maturity of that stance, showing that India’s resolve was no longer an exception but a norm.

Both operations whispered the same truth into the ears of those who dared to challenge India’s sovereignty: we watch, we wait, but when we strike, we leave no room for doubt.