IAF ops in Pakistan: Modi gave Pulwama jawans' kin closure, but Islamabad delusional that strikes only harmed trees

For Indians, the 13th day after death has deep meaning and is considered significant. It is customary to hold a ceremony of closure on this day. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi honoured the 42 CRPF troopers who were killed in the Pulwama terror attack by issuing orders on this 13th day to the Indian Air Force to strike at terror camps across the Line of Control (LoC). Most likely a coincidence, but certainly a move that will bring closure for the families of the fallen soldiers. Meanwhile, a special Parliament session in Islamabad focused on the “misery” in Kashmir, where “women and children are being killed”, with parliamentarians demanding that Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj be disinvited from being the guest of honour at the summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on 1 and 2 March. This was the major thrust and oft repeated. [caption id=“attachment_6156061” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Pakistan claimed payload of IAF aircraft fell in open areas. Twitter/Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor[/caption] Pakistan’s strategy has now shifted to blaming the OIC for inviting Sushma. How dare they do this when Pakistan is a member? She has to be stopped. Over the minutes, the attack by the Indian Air Force was eclipsed by the rage over Sushma addressing the OIC. In Parliament, Pakistani legislators also called for unity, one voice and for differences to be buried as the rhetoric turned shrill with a thread of panic in every voice. There was much talk of integrity, sovereignty and unity and the need to protect the legacy of Pakistan’s founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah. The essence: the country must live with honour and not concede to the enemy (India). The invective against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Hindutva in the Pakistani Parliament rose dramatically as the morning wore on. He was accused in the House of being Pakistan’s true enemy, and they also discussed how it was now time for the public and the armed forces to teach Modi a lesson. If Pakistan’s military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor goes with the story that India’s 12 armed Mirage 2000s ventured into Balakot and messed up a forest and little else, it might make sense to let him live with that delusion. It gives Pakistan a window to escape the consequences of harbouring these terrorist groups while denying the fact. It also allows for deflecting from a major-scale war and tries to indicate that Indian warplanes flew across the LoC, missed the target and were scared away by Pakistani’s F16s, so they dumped their armament collectively on a forest and scarpered. If this narrative works for Pakistan. We simply attacked those who hit us. Surfing Pakistani news channels would show that the country’s official media is in deep denial. The emphasis is on Indian Mirages being “scared away” and that 1,000 kilograms of explosives only felled three trees and nothing else. This core message for the Pakistani public and the extraordinary session of Parliament is further shored up by underscoring the “chaos” in India after the airstrikes — the rupee has fallen; Modi has done this with the elections in mind; the stock market is in a state of collapse; Indians are afraid. Besides all that, there is invective in the news and much bravado about shattering India into a thousand pieces. Follow LIVE updates on the IAF operation here