Remembering Pulwama Attacks When Over 40 CRFP Soldiers Were Martyred In Kashmir

Pulwama Attacks: On 14 February 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying Indian CRPF soldiers on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a suicide bomber at Lethpora in the Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir.

The attack led to the deaths of over 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers. The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed. The attacker was Adil Ahmad Dar, a local from Pulwama district, and a member of Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. A spokesperson of the banned terrorist organisation said: “dozens of forces’ vehicles were destroyed in the attack”.

After one year of the ghastly Pulwama attacks, a memorial to the 40 CRPF personnel killed in the suicide attack will be inaugurated at the Lethpora camp on Friday, a top official said.

“It is a way to pay homage to the brave soldiers who lost their lives in the Pulama attack,” Additional Director General of CRPF Zulfiqar Hasan said after a visit to the site where the memorial has been erected.

The names of all the 40 personnel along with their pictures will be part of the memorial along with the motto of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) — ‘Seva and Nishtha’ (Service and Loyalty).

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“It definitely was an unfortunate incident and we have learnt our lessons now. We were always extra alert during our movement but now an extra layer of alertness has been added to it,” Hasan told PTI here. The supreme sacrifices of the 40 soldiers has furthered enhanced “our resolve to eliminate enemies of the country”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the Pulwama attack and expressed solidarity with the soldiers and their families. The then Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured that a strong response will be given to the terror attack and blamed Pakistan for the deadly attack.

On 26 February, twelve Mirage 2000 jets of the Indian Air Force crossed the Line of Control and bombed Balakot, Pakistan. India claimed that it attacked a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp and killed a large number of terrorists which started the India-Pakistan standoff.