India exercised right to respond: Centre
- PTI
- May 7
- 4 min read
New Delhi: The government on Wednesday said that India exercised its right to respond, preempt as well as deter more cross-border attacks such as the one in Pahalgam, and asserted that it focussed on dismantling the terror infrastructure and disabling terrorists.
The statement was made at a media briefing by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Col. Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh after Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke.
The military strikes were conducted under Operation Sindoor two weeks after the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
Misri said the actions were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible.
Recalling the United Nations Security Council press statement on the Pahalgam attack, Misri said it underlined the “need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers, and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice”.
“India's latest action should be seen in this context,” Misri added.
The Foreign Secretary said it was deemed essential that the perpetrators and planners of the April 22 attack be brought to justice.
“Despite a fortnight having passed since the attack, there has been no demonstrable step from Pakistan to take action against the terrorist infrastructure on its territory or territory under its control. Instead all it has indulged in is denial and allegations,” he said
“Our intelligence monitoring of Pakistan-based terror modules indicated that further attacks against India were impending. There was thus a compulsion both to deter and to preempt,” Misri said.
Earlier this morning, India exercised its right to respond and preempt as well as deter more such cross-border attacks, he said.
“These actions were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible. It focussed on dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and disabling terrorists likely to be sent across to India,” he said.
Focused and precise
Soon after its military strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir, India on Wednesday said the operation was "focused and precise" and it has credible leads and evidence pointing towards the clear involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in the Pahalgam attack.
Following the precision strikes, India reached out to several world capitals and briefed senior officials about its anti-terror actions against Pakistan.
NSA Ajit Doval spoke to US NSA and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and briefed him on the actions taken.
"India has credible leads, technical inputs, testimony of the survivors and other evidence pointing towards the clear involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in this attack," the Indian embassy in Washington said.
"It was expected that Pakistan would take action against terrorists and the infrastructure that supports them," it said.
"Instead, during the fortnight that has gone by, Pakistan has indulged in denial and made allegations of false flag operations against India," the embassy said.
It said India's actions have been "focused and precise" and they were "measured, responsible and designed to be non-escalatory in nature."
"No Pakistani civilian, economic or military targets have been hit. Only known terror camps were targeted," the embassy said.
The military strikes were carried out under 'Operation Sindoor'.
India's actions came two weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack that triggered widespread outrage in India and abroad.
"These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered," the Army said in the statement.
"We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable," it said.
Modi briefs the Cabinet
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the Union Cabinet, hours after 'Operation Sindoor' was launched. The prime minister had earlier given full operational freedom to the armed forces to decide on the targets, manner and timing of the action against terror in the wake of the Pahalgam attack in which 26 tourists were killed. Before the meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and NSA Ajit Doval briefed the PM on the situation.
Leaves of paramilitary forces cancelled
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday directed chiefs of all paramilitary forces to call back their personnel who are on leave in the wake of the strikes carried out by the Indian armed forces in Pakistan as a retaliatory action against the Pahalgam terror attack, sources said. Shah, who is in regular touch with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, also asked them to ensure that the civilian population living along border areas are brought to safer places.
Modi picked the name ‘Operation Sindoor’
It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who picked the evocative term "Operation Sindoor" to name the Indian armed forces' strikes on nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, official sources said on Wednesday.
With terrorists gunning down 26 civilians, all men and mostly tourists, and the devastated wives of several of the victims becoming the face of the tragedy, the name "Operation Sindoor" was considered the appropriate moniker for the retaliatory exercise, they noted. It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who picked the evocative term "Operation Sindoor" to name the Indian armed forces' strikes on nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, official sources said on Wednesday.
With terrorists gunning down 26 civilians, all men and mostly tourists, and the devastated wives of several of the victims becoming the face of the tragedy, the name "Operation Sindoor" was considered the appropriate moniker for the retaliatory exercise, they noted.
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