The Balakot airstrike took place following days of rising tension between India and Pakistan. The strike was launched on February 26; two weeks after a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist rammed an explosive-laden car into a CRPF convoy in J&K’s Pulwama. Forty CRPF jawans were killed in the attack. In response, the Indian Air Force bombed Jaish-e-Mohammad’s largest terror camp located in Balakot in Pakistan’s Kyber Pakhtunkhwa. The following day, Pakistan retaliated by attempting to target India’s military installations. In the aerial combat that followed, a Pakistani F-16 fighter aircraft was downed and an Indian MiG-21 Bison piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was shot down. The injured pilot was taken prisoner by Pakistan and was released as a “gesture of peace” two days later, de-escalating tension between the two countries. Subsequently, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was awarded the Vir Chakra, India’s third-highest war time gallantry medal.
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