5 things that led India to do that
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised hopes of a new era in relations with Islamabad when he paid a surprise Christmas Day visit to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. In the months since, relations between the nuclear-armed archrivals have unravelled, culminating in the Indian military's strikes this week on militants along the de-facto border with Pakistan in Kashmir that prompted a furious response from Pakistan.
Pathankot attack
Just days after Modi's holiday visit to Sharif, militants from across the Pakistan border launched an audacious attack on an Indian airforce base that left seven soldiers dead. India blamed the raid at Pathankot in Punjab state on a Pakistan-based militant group that also staged a 2001 attack on the Indian parliament. Sharif promised Modi to take action against those responsible. But Pakistan's response was not that India hoped for. Modi even invited Pak investigators in India for probe and to gather information. Analysts says India's cooperative overtures were hit a wall on the Pakistani side.
Deadly Kashmir protests
Indian-administered Kashmir erupted in violence in July after a popular militant leader was killed in a gun battle with security forces. India slapped a curfew on the restive Himalayan region and internet and mobile phone services were snapped. But residents continued to take to the streets to protest Indian rule, with more than 80 people killed in the ongoing unrest. Sharif declared the militant commander as a martyr and ordered all the government institutions to launch a campaign to highlight the issue globally, further stoking tensions between the neighbours.
Uri army base attack
On September 18, militants staged a predawn raid on an Indian army base near the de-facto border dividing Kashmir, killing 19 soldiers -- the worst such attack in 14 years. India blamed the attack at Uri on Pakistani-based militants, the same group blamed for the Pathankot attack. Modi vowed to punish those responsible, while also launching a diplomatic drive to isolate Pakistan, including by pulling out of a regional summit, in a major snub to Pakistan.
Public Pressure
The Uri attack triggered public fury and demands for military action, including from senior members of Modi's own party. Modi, given his credentials as a strong Hindu nationalist, has been critical of the previous Congress rule for not taking serious action over what he called Pakistani aggression. The pressure mounted as his goodwill postures to Sharif backfired with the two attacks on Indian soil. Besides this, Modi was left with no choice because of what the army said was substantial intelligence of militants preparing to attack Indian towns and cities before the surgical strikes.
International opinion
India may have also been counting on the fact that Modi enjoys a closer relationship with Washington than his predecessors, and therefore international reaction to India's strikes might be muted. The West has been very critical of Pakistan's stance to fight terror as terrorism spread globally due to Islamic state attacks on Europe, US and other parts of the world.
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