Stating that Operation Sindoor had “exposed” Pakistan’s complicity in terrorism directed at India, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Friday “it was the Pakistan Army that replied after we hit their terror bases”. He said top Pakistan Army officers were seen offering namaz and shouldering the coffins of the terrorists killed in the May 7 strikes by India on terror hubs in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan. Delivering the Rustamji Memorial Lecture at the Border Security Force (BSF) investiture ceremony, Shah said when Pakistan attempted to target Indian civilians and military installations, the Indian Armed Forces responded decisively by attacking their air bases, showcasing “our lethal capabilities and proving their air defence system ineffective”. Describing Operation Sindoor as “a remarkable demonstration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s firm political will, precise intelligence inputs from agencies, and the lethal capabilities of our forces”, he said, “For decades, our country faced Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, and over the years, Pakistan carried out multiple terrorist attacks, but these were never adequately responded to.” “After Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, the first major terrorist attack on our soldiers occurred in Uri, and for the first time, we conducted a surgical strike, penetrating into terrorist hideouts and giving a befitting response. We believed the response would put an end to the terror activities, but it did not, and another terrorist attack took place in Pulwama on our soldiers. This time, the Indian forces responded decisively with an airstrike, once again destroying terrorist bases,” he said. The situation, he said, deteriorated further in Pahalgam where Pakistan-sponsored terrorists killed innocent tourists before their wives and families after inquiring about their religion. “At that time, Prime Minister Modi had declared that this terrorist attack would receive a fitting response, and Operation Sindoor was that appropriate response. Today, the entire world is praising the bravery and lethal capabilities of our armed forces,” he said. “While responses to terrorist attacks have been given in many parts of the world, the response India has given is unique. After the attack in Pahalgam, we launched Operation Sindoor and, within minutes, destroyed nine terrorist bases, two of which were headquarters of terrorist organisations,” he said. He underlined that the Indian Armed Forces initially neither attacked Pakistan’s military establishments nor their air bases, but only destroyed terrorist hideouts. “We believed this would suffice as our attack was solely against the terrorists. Pakistan proved that it sponsors terrorism by considering the attack on the terrorists as an attack on itself and dared to target our country’s civilians and military installations. India’s air defence system is remarkable, and Pakistan’s attacks could not harm us,” he said. “When the Pakistani Army attempted to attack our civilians and military installations, the Indian Armed Forces responded decisively by attacking their air bases, showcasing our lethal capabilities and proving their air defence system ineffective. Even during that time, we did not attack any civilian location in Pakistan,” he said. “Through Operation Sindoor, the bonding between Pakistan and terrorism has been exposed to the entire world. When terrorist bases in Pakistan were attacked, the Pakistan Army responded, and the world witnessed senior Pakistan Army officers attending the funerals of the killed terrorists,” he said. Shah said the BSF proved its mettle during Operation Sindoor. “The entire nation is proud of our armed forces and BSF border guards. The BSF has demonstrated, by responding with bullet for bullet at the border, that as long as it is present, the Pakistan Army cannot advance even an inch,” he said. “During Operation Sindoor, BSF personnel Mohammad Imtiyaz Ahmad and Deepak Chingakham made the supreme sacrifice while protecting the motherland, and their names will forever be etched in golden letters in the history of the nation’s defence,” he said.
