- Pakistani-sponsored terrorists killing innocent civilians in the picturesque Baisaran, Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, was received by the Indian citizens with great trepidation but also baying for blood for the most dastardly, heinous, and cowardly act. 28 innocent lives, mainly belonging to the Hindu majority, had made every Indian clinch their fist with anger for the sheer act of identifying the religion/faith of men and shooting in cold blood in front of their families. While the whole country was bursting at the seams with profound fury, the Union Government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, showed pragmatism without letting the hyperbole take over the narrative. Yes, the Union Government made it clear that an appropriate response will ensue.
PC: India Today
- As we know, the Cabinet Committee on Security met a few times, and the PM authorized the armed forces to plan an adequate, effective, and befitting response to the act of terrorism perpetrated on holidaying civilian tourists. Thus, the Operation Sindoor was unleashed with such precision planning and execution, proving to be flawless. The moniker itself is so appropriate when the sacred sindoor of so many women was wiped out by the mindless act of killing. Recollect when India struck terrorist camps across LoC in September 2016, to avenge Uri, the world was surprised. Same after Balakot. However, Op Sindoor takes payback for terrorism to another level altogether. Nine targets – four inside Pakistan and four along the POK – are proof of our resolve, as also the penetrative depth and capabilities of our armed forces to go deep into enemy territory.
PC: India Today
- The rubble of JeM’s Markaz Subhan Allah HQ in Bahawalpur – 100 km away – amply testifies and bears the imprint of Indian resolve. Eight other terrorist camps located 9-30 km inside Pakistan-controlled territory also lie pulverized. Of course, the havoc was wrought in 25 minutes shows how India’s determination to punish terrorists and their masters has hardened, and its capabilities have matured, under the present dispensation at the Centre, especially PM Narendra Modi. If the scale of India’s retaliation for Pahalgam is unprecedented, its planning and execution are flawless. Apart from giving free hand to the armed forces, the Union Government turning the screws on Pakistan by other means, like suspending cross-border trade and the Indus Water Treaty was apt too.
PC: Deccan Chronicle
- Further dissecting the Operation Sindoor shows that operational secrecy was maintained so well that the missiles, when they hit home, literally caught everyone napping. JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar has acknowledged that some of his close aides were killed in the strike on his Markaz in Bahawalpur. Nonetheless, the significance of these strikes goes beyond the body count. An attack deep inside Pakistan’s Punjab province should make it clear that, when it comes to pursuing terrorists, no place is off-limits anymore. That’s the message loud and clear, and the optics amply demonstrate as well. As PM Modi promised after Pahalgam, they will be pursued to the ends of the earth. What next? Brace up for escalation from the Pakistan army.
