Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday sharpened his attack on Pakistan, reiterating India’s commitment to national security and recalling the military action against terror camps across the border.
Addressing a public rally in Dhar, Modi said, “The nation gives utmost priority to the security of Mother India. Pakistani terrorists removed the Sindoor of our sisters and daughters. We did Operation Sindoor and destroyed terror camps. Our brave armed forces brought Pakistan to its knees within the blink of an eye.”
“Just yesterday, the nation and the world witnessed another Pakistani terrorist tearfully narrate his ordeal. This is a new India. It fears no one’s nuclear threats… Ghar mein ghus ke maarta hai (it enters the enemy’s house and strikes),” Modi added.
The Prime Minister did not directly name the terrorist organisation. However the remarks came a day after a senior Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander, in a rare admission, conceded that Indian forces had devastated the family of terror mastermind Masood Azhar during the Bahawalpur strikes under Operation Sindoor.
A video of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander Masood Ilyas Kashmiri has gone viral on social media, in which he is heard recalling the May 7 assault carried out under Operation Sindoor. In the clip, he describes how Indian forces stormed their hideout in Bahawalpur.
“Embracing terrorism, we fought Delhi, Kabul and Kandahar for protecting the borders of this country. After sacrificing everything, on May 7, Maulana Masood Azhar’s family was torn apart by Indian forces in Bahawalpur,” Masood Ilyas Kashmiri said in Urdu, with armed men standing in the background.
HT.com has not independently verified the authenticity of the video.
The May 7 strikes under Operation Sindoor were jointly executed by the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force in retaliation to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which left 26 civilians, mostly tourists, dead.
In a coordinated overnight offensive, Indian forces targeted nine terrorist facilities, hitting key terror hubs of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen in Bahawalpur, Kotli and Muridke.