New Delhi, Feb 14: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday paid tribute to the 40 CRPF personnel who made the supreme sacrifice in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, saying the nation will forever remain indebted to our bravehearts.
“I bow to the valorous martyrs of Pulwama, who laid down their lives for our motherland. Their supreme sacrifice will always be remembered. Nation will forever remain indebted to our bravehearts,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in a post on ‘X’.
February 14, 2019 marks five years since the Pulwama terror attack, when 40 valiant Indian soldiers were killed after a suicide bomber rammed an IED-laden vehicle into the security convoy carrying them.
Days after the attack, the Indian Air Force carried out multiple aerial strikes on February 26, 2019, at JeM terror camps in Pakistan’s Balakot, killing a “large number” of terrorists and destroying their infrastructure.
The air strike was launched in the early hours of February 26 and Pakistan’s efforts to launch an offensive the next day to target Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir were thwarted by an alert IAF.
In the dogfight, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, flying a MiG-21 Bison fighter plane and chasing Pakistani jets, crossed over to PoK, where his aircraft was shot down. He was taken into custody by Pakistan. India also shot down a Pakistani fighter jet.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also paid tributes to the brave soldiers “Pay homage to our brave jawans who laid down their lives this day in Pulwama in 2019. Their courage motivates us to keep up our vigil against cross-border terrorism.”
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also paid his tributes to the fallen soldiers “Today, we honour the memory of the brave soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country in Pulwama. We pay tribute to their families, who have shown unwavering strength & resilience. We remain forever indebted to their service.”
Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi also saluted the braves “Salutes and humble tributes to the brave martyrs of Pulwama terrorist attack. The country will always be indebted to them for their supreme sacrifice dedicated to the defence of India.”
