New Delhi: In a firm and stern warning to Pakistan from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India will not differentiate between terrorists and those supporting them. He also said India’s armed forces will decide on punishment in case of any future misadventure from the neighbouring nation.
Hailing the armed forces on Operation Sindoor, Modi said it dealt a severe blow to Pakistan as new details of damages suffered by the country are emerging every day.
In his address to the nation on India’s 79th Independence Day, the prime minister once again made it clear that India will not tolerate Pakistan’s nuclear blackmail anymore and that New Delhi has set a “new normal” in dealing with cross-border terrorism.
Recalling the horrific Pahalgam terror attack, the prime minister said entire India and the world was shocked and outraged and Operation Sindoor was a reflection of that sentiment.
“I am very proud that from the ramparts of the Red Fort, I am getting the opportunity to salute our heroes of Operation Sindoor. Our brave soldiers punished the enemy beyond its imagination,” Modi said in Hindi.
“What the Indian armed forces have done during Operation Sindoor has not been seen in many decades.”
India responded to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 with several punitive diplomatic and economic measures, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor to target terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan, triggering four days of hostilities that ended with an understanding between the two sides on May 10.
Outlining India’s firm approach in combating cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan, Modi said a “new normal” has been set
“I salute our brave soldiers who punished those behind the Pahalgam attack beyond their imagination,” Modi said in his 12th consecutive address from the Red Fort.
The prime minister said the armed forces were given a free hand to punish those behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and that the military will decide about punishment in case of any future misadventure.
“On April 22, terrorists from across the border came to Pahalgam and killed innocent people after questioning their religion…Entire India was outraged, and the entire world was shocked. Operation Sindoor is the expression of that outrage,” he said.
“We gave a free hand to our armed forces. They decide the strategy, target and time. Our forces did what had never been done for several decades.”
“We entered hundreds of kilometres into the enemy soil and destroyed their terror bases to the ground. Destruction in Pakistan was so massive that new details are coming out every day about it,” Modi said.
The prime minister also highlighted how the government’s policy of self-reliance in the defence sector contributed in the success of Operation Sindoor.
In his address, Modi also justified India’s decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan in abeyance.
“Now, blood and water will not flow together,” Modi said, adding that the treaty was “one-sided and unjust”.
“Rivers from India were irrigating the lands of enemies while my country’s land faced a deficiency of water. For the last seven decades, this agreement harmed the interests of farmers,” he added.
