Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Thursday that Pahalgam terror attack was “original escalation” by Pakistan and India responded in “controlled, precise, measured, considered and non-escalatory” manner through precise strikes on terror infrastructure early on Wednesday.
Addressing a joint press conference here, Misri said that India’s intention is not to escalate matters and is only responding to the escalation.
“Pakistan escalated on April 22, we are only responding to escalation. If further escalation, the response will be in the appropriate domain,” Misri said.
He said when talks were going on about the Pahalgam at the UNSC, Pakistan opposed the role of TRF (The Resistance Front).
“This is after TRF claimed the responsibility of the attack not once, but twice… Col Qureshi and Wing Commander Singh clearly said yesterday as well as today, that India’s response is non-escalatory, precise, and measured. Our intention is not to escalate matters and we are only responding to the escalation. No military targets have been targeted; only terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan has been hit,” Misri said.
The Foreign Secretary said Pakistan’s reputation as the epicentre of global terrorism is rooted in a number of instances.
“I don’t need to remind where Osama Bin Laden was found and who called him a martyr…Pakistan is also home to a large number of UN proscribed terrorists and also to terrorists proscribed by many countries…You must have seen in the last few days, their Defence minister and former foreign minister accepted their country’s involvement with such terror groups,” he said.
“It’s also odd that funerals of civilians are being carried out by coffins wrapped in their national flag, and state honours are being awarded,” he added.
Misri condemned Pakistan targeting civilians in Jammu and Kashmir through artillery firing.
“Yesterday Pakistan launched a targeted attack on the Sikh community of J&K- hitting a gurdwara in Poonch and hitting the Sikh community members, who came under attack, and three individuals were killed in the attacks… A total of 16 civilians have been killed in Poonch and several others have been injured.”
Defence Ministry said in a statement that during the press briefing on Operation Sindoor yesterday, India had called its response as focused, measured and non-escalatory. It was specifically mentioned that Pakistani military establishments had not been targeted. It was also reiterated that any attack on military targets in India will invite a suitable response.
It said that on the night of May 7-8, Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, using drones and missiles.
These were neutralised by the Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems. The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations that prove the Pakistani attacks.
Today morning Indian Armed Forces targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan. Indian response has been in the same domain with same intensity as Pakistan. It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised, the statement said.
It said that Pakistan has increased the intensity of its unprovoked firing across the Line of Control using Mortars and heavy calibre Artillery in areas in Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar and Rajouri sectors in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sixteen innocent lives have been lost, including three women and five children, due to Pakistani firing. Here too, India was compelled to respond to bring Mortar and Artillery fire from Pakistan to a halt, the statement added. (ANI)
