After the surgical strike of 2016 and the Balakot air campaign of 2019, Operation Sindoor has established “a new line, new benchmark and a new normal” in the fight against terrorism, he said in the televised speech.
“Firstly, if there is a terrorist attack against India, a befitting reply will be given,” he said, ticking off the terms of this new normal. “We will respond in our own way, on our own terms. We will take the harshest action at every place from where the roots of terrorism emerge. Second, India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail.
India will undertake precise and decisive attacks on terrorist bases flourishing under the shield of nuclear blackmail.”
The Prime Minister referred to the presence of the Pakistan military brass at the funeral of relatives of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, saying this was clear proof of the close ties that the neighbouring country’s armed forces and the state have with terrorists. “Third, we will not see the government that patronises terrorism and the masters of terrorism as separate entities,” he said. “During Operation Sindoor, the world has once again seen the ugly truth of Pakistan, when top officials of the Pakistani army thronged to bid farewell to the dead terrorists. This is ample proof of state-sponsored terrorism. We will continue to take decisive steps to protect India and our citizens from any threat.”In an ostensible rebuttal of reports that the threat of international trade sanctions was used to pressure India to end Operation Sindoor, the Prime Minister said, “Terror and talks cannot coexist, terror and trade cannot go hand in hand, water and blood can never flow together.” The reference to “water and blood” was in the context of India suspending the Indus Water Treaty following the April 22 terrorist attack on tourists that left 26 people dead in Pahalgam.
Modi categorically stated that any talks with Pakistan in the near future will be on two key issues alone.
“Today, I would also like to tell the world community that it has been our declared policy that if there are talks with Pakistan, they will be on terrorism only; if there are talks with Pakistan, they will be on Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir only,” he said.
Setting at rest speculation about how the two nations agreed to peace, the Prime Minister said Pakistan had sought an end to hostilities because of the losses it sustained.
“After India’s aggressive action, Pakistan started looking for ways to escape,” Modi said. “Pakistan was pleading with the world to reduce tensions. And after being badly beaten, the Pakistani army was compelled to contact our DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) on the afternoon of May 10. By then, we had destroyed the terrorist infrastructure on a large scale, the terrorists were killed, and we had turned the terror bases established in the heart of Pakistan into shambles. So, when Pakistan appealed, when it was said from Pakistan’s side that no further terrorist activity and military adventure will be undertaken from its side, India considered it.”
The Prime Minister elaborated on the sentiment he had expressed in his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war with Ukraine weeks after it erupted.
“This is certainly not an era of war but it is not an era of terrorism either. Zero tolerance against terrorism is the guarantee of a better world,” Modi said.
Peace can only be achieved through strength, he pointed out.
The Prime Minister slammed Pakistan for attacking India’s schools, colleges, temples, gurudwaras and homes of civilians. He said that 100 terrorists, including their leaders who had been roaming free for years, were killed during Operation Sindoor.
