Balakot strike was conducted with finesse: Ajit Doval

New Delhi, May 11

One of PM Modi’s greatest feats was handling cross-border terrorism and the finesse with which the Balakot strike was conceived and implemented, writes National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who was in the operational cockpit during both the surgical land strikes of 2016 and the Balakot aerial strikes in 2019. He says the operation “blew away the myth of Pakistan’s nuclear blackmail”.

Doval went on to warn that while the first two counterstrikes were land-based and aerial, “tomorrow, it may be different from both if the adversary again causes disproportionate casualties”. “Domain and level will not be inhibiting factors,” writes Doval in the chapter, “Tackling adversaries through strong and effective national security policies”, in the book ‘Modi@20’.

The lack of response to the numerous incidents of bombings in cities during the UPA rule had agitated Modi ever since he was CM. The decision not to retaliate for the Mumbai attacks had earned India the “infamous nomenclature” of being a “soft state”. “The first of its kind operations after Uri enhanced India’s global prestige. It caused panic in the adversary’s mind and momentarily disrupted terror training and planning of more attacks,” he said.