External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the country’s approach to self-defense has changed a lot, especially with the previous terrorist attacks. Speaking about the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Jaishankar said, “In the past, India left 26/11 unanswered. We have responded to Pakistan with the Uri and Balakot strikes.
The minister’s comments reminded one of India’s military retaliations in the wake of some high-profile terrorist attacks. The surgical strike, carried out by Indian special forces in September 2016, hit terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after an attack on an Indian Army base in Uri that killed 19 soldiers. The operation was to take out terror launch pads well inside enemy territory.
He also mentioned the February 2019 airstrikes in Balakot, carried out in response to a suicide bombing by JeM from Pakistan that killed 40 personnel of the CRPF in Pulwama. It was a decisive action and a definitive shift in India’s military approach against terrorism.
These attacks by ten terrorists from Lashkar-e-Taiba involved coordinated strikes at key installations: the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. In all, for three days, 166 people lost their lives-which included 20 security personnel and 26 foreign nationals-along with more than 300 being injured.
Following the 26/11 attacks, the Indian Defence Ministry has initiated an all-encompassing re-evaluation of coastal security. The Indian Navy has been assigned as the lead agency for maritime and coastal security, in coordination with the Coast Guard, State Marine Police, and other central and state agencies to strengthen the country’s defenses against any potential threat.
