Jammu, May 22 : In a powerful and emotionally charged statement following the recent Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the perpetrators behind the Pahalgam terror attack have paid a heavy price, asserting that India’s response has marked a new era in its fight against terrorism. Speaking days after the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where civilians were targeted based on their religion, Modi said the entire nation stood united in grief and resolve. “Those bullets were fired in Pahalgam, but they pierced the hearts of 140 crore Indians,” the Prime Minister said, referring to the killing of civilians, including women, whose sindoor (vermilion) was targeted in a brutal act of violence.
Addressing a public rally in Rajasthan’s Bikaner, the Prime Minister termed Operation Sindoor as the fulfillment of the nation’s collective pledge to ensure those responsible face unprecedented consequences. “In just 22 minutes, our forces destroyed nine major terrorist hideouts,” he said, calling the operation not just a response, but “a new form of justice” and “the fierce form of a powerful India.” The Prime Minister said that this action was not part of a tit-for-tat approach, but a reflection of India’s evolving counter-terrorism doctrine. Outlining three key principles that will now guide India’s response to any terrorist act. First, the Prime Minister said any attack on India will invite a decisive and forceful reply, with the timing, strategy, and location determined solely by India’s forces. Second, he emphasised that India would no longer be intimidated by threats of nuclear retaliation. Third, and most significantly, Modi made it clear that India will no longer differentiate between terrorist organisations and the states that support them — directly naming Pakistan. “This game of Pakistan using non-state and state actors will no longer work. We now treat them as one and the same,” he said. India, the Prime Minister added, is now aggressively engaging with the international community to expose Pakistan’s complicity in terrorism. “Seven separate delegations from India are reaching out across the world. These delegations include representatives from all political parties and foreign policy experts. Now, the real face of Pakistan will be shown to the world,” he stated. Modi also addressed Pakistan’s failed attempt to target the Nal airbase in Bikaner, confirming that India’s defenses prevented any damage. “Just across the border, Pakistan’s Rahimyar Khan airbase is now lying in the ICU,” he declared, claiming it had been critically damaged by Indian precision strikes. PM Modi in his first public rally after Operation Sindoor recalled his visit to Rajasthan after Balakot airstrikes, where he had sworn that India would never bow to terrorism. “Today I repeat — those who tried to wipe off the sindoor have been reduced to dust. Those who shed the blood of India have paid for every drop. Those who once boasted of their weapons are now buried under the rubble.” “It is a coincidence that after the country carried out air strikes in Balakot 5 years ago, my first public meeting was held on the border in Rajasthan itself. It is due to the penance of Veerbhoomi that such a coincidence takes place. Now this time when Operation Sindoor happened, then after that my first public meeting is again taking place here in Bikaner on the border of Veerbhoomi Rajasthan among all of you,” he added. He stated that India’s new strategy is not just to respond but to deliver a strike “directly on the chest of the enemy,” describing this shift as the beginning of a powerful and assertive India. “There will be no trade and no talks with Pakistan,” the Prime Minister declared. “If there is ever any discussion, it will only be about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. And if Pakistan continues to export terror, it will have to beg for every rupee. Pakistan will no longer get even a drop of the water that rightfully belongs to India.” Asserting that India’s patience should not be mistaken for weakness, Modi warned that the cost of playing with Indian lives will now be borne by both Pakistan’s military and its economy.
