PM warns of resumed action if Pakistan backtracks, calls Operation Sindoor a shift in India’s counter-terror policy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a national address on Monday, described Operation Sindoor, India’s recent military action targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan, as not just a response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack but a shift in the country’s counter-terrorism doctrine.
“This is not just an operation but a doctrinal change and a policy against terrorism,” he said, declaring that while Indian military action had been paused, it was not over. “We have just suspended our retaliatory action against Pakistan’s terror and military camps. In the coming days we will measure every step of Pakistan on the criterion that what sort of attitude Pakistan will adopt ahead.”
The speech comes days after Indian armed forces carried out strikes across the border in what the government says were targeted attacks on terrorist training centres in Pakistan, following an attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians.
Modi said the Pahalgam incident was a “very gruesome face of terror and cruelty” and claimed the nation had united behind the decision to give the armed forces “full freedom” to act. “Every terrorist, every terror organisation knows the consequence of wiping out the Sindoor of our sisters and daughters,” he said.
He added that “more than 100 dreaded terrorists have been killed in these attacks by India,” including “many terrorist leaders” who had been operating from Pakistan “for the last two and a half to three decades.”
According to the Prime Minister, the operation targeted what he referred to as long-standing hubs of terrorism. “Terrorist bases, like Bahawalpur and Muridke are universities of global terrorism,” he said, claiming connections between these sites and major terror attacks worldwide, including 9/11 and the London Tube bombings.
Following India’s strikes, Modi said, “Pakistan targeted our schools, colleges, Gurudwaras, temples and houses of civilians. Pakistan targeted our military base.” He claimed India’s air defence systems “destroyed them in the sky itself,” and asserted that Indian strikes damaged Pakistani air bases “of which Pakistan was very proud.”
He also claimed that on May 10, Pakistan’s army reached out to India’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) to de-escalate, after what he described as “heavy losses.” Modi said India’s response had resulted in the large-scale destruction of terror infrastructure and the elimination of camps “established in the heart of Pakistan.”
In what he described as a shift in India’s strategic approach, Modi outlined three principles emerging from Operation Sindoor:
“First, If there is a terrorist attack on India, a fitting reply will be given. We will give a befitting response on our terms only. We will take strict action at every place from where the roots of terrorism emerge.”
“Secondly, India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail. India will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail.”
“Thirdly, we will not differentiate between the government sponsoring terrorism and the masterminds of terrorism.”
He cited the presence of Pakistani army officers at the funerals of slain militants as “strong evidence of state-sponsored terrorism.”
The Prime Minister also addressed India’s domestic defence manufacturing, saying that the operation had demonstrated the “authenticity” of Made in India weapons in “deserts and mountains” and in “New Age Warfare.”
He repeated a message directed at Pakistan, stating: “Terror and talks cannot go together… Terror and trade cannot go together…. Water and blood cannot flow together.”
Modi concluded with a reference to Buddha Purnima, saying, “The path of peace also goes through power,” and linked national security to the broader goal of a “Viksit Bharat” (Developed India). He reaffirmed that India’s policy toward Pakistan would remain focused on terrorism and the issue of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). “If there are talks with Pakistan, it will be only on terrorism; and if there are talks with Pakistan, it will be only on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK),” he said.
Operation Sindoor details
On May 7, the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor, a series of precision strikes targeting alleged terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. According to Indian authorities, over 100 militants were killed in the operation.
Following the strikes, Pakistan launched retaliatory attacks, which the Indian Armed Forces responded to with countermeasures, including targeting Pakistani air bases. India described its response as firm, focused, and measured.
The two countries reached a ceasefire understanding on May 10, bringing an end to the hostilities. Talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGsMO) of both nations took place on Monday, shortly before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s national address.
(With inputs from agencies)
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