Early Times Report
Udhampur, June 21: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday warned Pakistan that any future terror attack on Indian soil will have serious consequences as Operation Sindoor is not over yet and India is ready to take any action against terrorism. Addressing troops of the Army’s Northern Command here after joining them for a yoga session on the International Day of Yoga, the defence minister said Operation Sindoor conveyed to Pakistan that its “thousand cuts” policy against India will not succeed.
Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi was also part of the session.
Singh reached Udhampur on a two-day visit on Friday, his second trip to Jammu and Kashmir post-Operation Sindoor. He visited Kashmir on May 15, days after India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop military actions against each other.
“Operation Sindoor is not over yet. Through this operation, we have told Pakistan that continuing terrorism against India will not be tolerated and the response will get from bad to worse,” said Singh, flanked by Gen Dwivedi.
Under Operation Sindoor, Indian armed forces struck terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on the intervening night of May 6 and 7 in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead.
“Operation Sindoor was not just a reaction to the Pahalgam terrorist attack, it was a natural progression of the 2016 surgical strike and the 2019 (Balakot) airstrike. We conveyed to Pakistan that its policy of a thousand cuts against India will not succeed.
“Any terror attack on Indian soil will come at a great cost to Pakistan. India is ready to take any kind of action against terrorism,” Singh said.
As part of Operation Sindoor, he said, the Indian armed forces precisely destroyed terrorists’ forts across the border.
“We could have easily destroyed other targets but we did not do that. We showed restraint,” the defence minister said, attributing it to yoga, which he underlined helps overcome anger, makes one physically and mentally strong, and controls power.
Singh said the Pahalgam attack, which was planned across the border, was not just another terrorist incident but was aimed at disturbing India’s social and communal unity.
“We not only foiled their plans but also took retaliatory action that forced Pakistan to kneel and only then did we halt Operation Sindoor,” he said. |
