The Indian PM says New Delhi will act decisively against terrorism and will not differentiate between “terrorists and their state sponsors”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed on Monday to deliver a “befitting response” to terrorism, stating that New Delhi could also resort to military action if threatened by a nuclear power – in a veiled reference to its neighbor, Pakistan.
In his first public address to the nation days after New Delhi launched Operation Sindoor against targets in Pakistan, which it accused of supporting cross-border terrorism – a claim Islamabad denies – Modi highlighted the change in New Delhi’s security policy.
“Operation Sindoor is India’s policy against terrorism. Operation Sindoor has carved out a new benchmark in our fight against terrorism and has set up a new parameter and new normal,” he said, adding that India will not differentiate between “terrorists and their state sponsors.”
“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,” he vowed.
Modi went on to say that “no nuclear blackmail will be tolerated anymore.”
India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed nations, have exchanged a series of strikes in the past five days, following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam in India’s union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people, mainly tourists, were killed. Following the attack, Modi instructed the military to respond to any “provocations” from Pakistan.
Weeks later, on May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor, striking nine cites in Pakistan, including locations in Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Muzaffarabad, which were believed to host terrorist camps. This triggered a response by Islamabad, which launched drone and missile strikes on Indian military sites.
Both nations claimed they achieved their military goals, while accusing each other of targeting civilians, with fatalities declared on both sides. On Saturday, the two nations announced a ceasefire.
On Monday, the Director Generals of Military Operations of the two countries held talks and discussed their commitments under the ceasefire. It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reductions from the borders and forward areas, ANI news agency reported, citing the Indian Army.
In his address, Modi claimed that New Delhi destroyed “the terror camps established in the heart of Pakistan.”
“Therefore, when Pakistan appealed and said that it will not indulge in any sort of terror activities or military audacity further, India considered it. And I am repeating again, we have just suspended our retaliatory action against Pakistan’s terror and military camps,” Modi said.
The Indian military earlier stated that it eliminated around 100 terrorists and 40 Pakistani security personnel and destroyed 11 air bases in Pakistan, with significant damage inflicted on the country’s military capabilities.
