Pulwama-Balakot crisis

The Pulwama–Balakot crisis was the most serious India–Pakistan military confrontation since the 1999 Kargil War, triggered by a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir and escalating into the first cross-border airstrikes by either nuclear-armed state on the other's undisputed territory since 1971.

On 14 February 2019, a vehicle-borne suicide bomber struck a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy on the Jammu–Srinagar highway near Pulwama, killing roughly 40 CRPF personnel. The Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility. India blamed Pakistan for harbouring JeM and its leader Masood Azhar.

In the early hours of 26 February 2019, Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 jets crossed the Line of Control and struck what India described as a JeM training camp near Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — the first Indian airstrike inside Pakistan proper since 1971. Pakistan disputed the claimed casualties and damage.

On 27 February, the Pakistan Air Force launched retaliatory strikes across the LoC. In the ensuing dogfight, an Indian MiG-21 was downed and its pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was captured by Pakistan. He was released on 1 March 2019 in what Prime Minister Imran Khan called a "peace gesture." India also claimed to have shot down a Pakistani F-16, which Pakistan denied.

The crisis is studied for several reasons:

• It tested the nuclear stability–instability paradox in South Asia, showing both states believed limited conventional strikes were possible below the nuclear threshold.
• It marked an Indian doctrinal shift toward punitive cross-border strikes following the 2016 "surgical strikes" after the Uri attack.
• International mediation was discreet but significant, with the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates reportedly pressing for de-escalation.

In May 2019, the UN Security Council 1267 Committee finally designated Masood Azhar as a global terrorist after China lifted its long-standing hold.