Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 12: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asserted that India would not tolerate any “nuclear blackmail” by Pakistan and said “Operation Sindoor” which smashed the terror infrastructure would henceforth the new normal between the two countries and would be strongly responded to if Pakistan again indulged in any misadventure.
Addressing the nation on Monday night, his first since the Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent strong operations. Modi also refuted the Pakistani claims of ceasefire to be followed by talks on Indus Treaty Water (IWT) and Kashmir among other issues and asserted that there would be no talks on the Jammu and Kashmir issue except to dismantle its terrorist infrastructure and return Pak-occupied-Kashmir to India.
About the IWT, which India had suspended following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Mr Modi reiterated that despite ceasefire, India was not ready to reconsider on the treaty stating that blood and water could not flow together. “Terror and talks cannot happen together… terror and trade can’t happen together… and terror and water cannot flow together. If we ever talk to Pakistan, it will be on terror and PoK only,” he stressed.
In his 22-minute address, the Prime Minister reminded Pakistan that “Operation Sindoor” had only been kept in abeyance and not scrapped and the future would depend on their behaviour. He said while Pakistan pleaded with India to stop the military offensive, New Delhi considered it only after they promised to stop their misadventure. He also stressed that ‘Operation Sindoor” was not just an operation but a doctrinal change and a policy against terror.
Mr Modi also cautioned the Pakistani government and its army for supporting terrorism and said “one day this will wipe (you) out.” He also warned Pak – as his and other Indian governments have in the past – that the Kashmir issue cannot be viewed as a stand-alone problem. Operation Sindoor has not ended; it will be a continuing and decisive action against state-sponsored terror attacks on Indian citizens, PM Modi said.
He reiterated what the senior officers of all the three armed services told the country in the last two days – “This is a new normal. India will strike at the heart of terror decisively if our citizens are attacked.” PM Modi publicly called out the entire terror apparatus of Pakistan, and called Bahawalpur and Muridke as “universities of terror.”
“We will not see terrorists and the government separately. The world has seen how Pakistan’s army officers attended the funeral of terrorists. This is big evidence of state-sponsored terrorism,” PM Modi said. “We will take strong steps to protect India. Operation Sindoor has written history. We displayed our strength in the desert, mountains and showed our potential in new-age warfare,” he said.
The Prime Minister said terrorists never imagined India would make such a bold move, but when the nation stands united with ‘nation first’ as its guiding principle, firm decisions are taken and impactful results are delivered. He said India’s missile and drone strikes on terrorist hubs in Pakistan shattered not only their infrastructure but also their morale. He pointed out that locations like Bahawalpur and Muridke had long operated as centres of global terrorism, linking them to major attacks worldwide, including the 9/11 attacks on the US, the London tube bombings, and decades of terrorist incidents in India.
The Prime Minister termed the Pahalgam terror attack as the most “barbaric face of terrorism” saying it was personal pain for him but the enemy has now realised the consequences of removing “sindoor” from the forehead of Indian women. Operation Sindoor is now India’s new policy against terrorism, a new line has been drawn,” he said.
The Prime Minister in his speech made sure that the nexus between the Pakistan government, army and the terrorists is highlighted. He said any future talks with Pakistan will only happen on terrorism and on Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir, and nothing else.
The Prime Minister said, “Pakistan began seeking ways to de-escalate, appealing to the global community for relief from rising tensions. He revealed that, after suffering severe losses, Pakistan’s military reached out to India’s DGMO on the afternoon of May 10.”
India has repeatedly accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism, i.e., funding and training terrorists to stage terror attacks on Indian soil, as part of its efforts to illegally grab J&K. Pakistan has, just as repeatedly, denied any connection to terrorists and/or terror groups involved in attacks on India, and insisted that it does not harbour or fund terrorism.
India, however, has pointed to a growing pile of evidence linking the Pak deep state to terror attacks on its soil, including the assault on Parliament in 2001, the horrific shooting of civilians in Mumbai in 2011, and attacks on soldiers in Uri and Pulwama in 2016 and 2019.
The investigation into the Pahalgam attack has also thrown up Pak links; three of the five terrorists are Pakistan nationals and the Resistance Front, a proxy of the Pak-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group, has claimed responsibility. Pakistan’s attempt to change that narrative – at a closed-door United Nations Security Council meet this month – was unsuccessful.
