India Responds with Precision Strikes in Operation Sindoor
- Pahalgam Attack Designed to Sabotage Peace in Jammu & Kashmir
- Brutality Meant to Instill Fear and Send a Message
- Operation Sindoor: India’s Precision Strikes Against Terror Infrastructure
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Wednesday explained the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack was an orchestrated effort to prevent the re-emergence of normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir and to establish conditions favourable to chronic cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistan.
Speaking at a press briefing with Indian Army Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Indian Air Force Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, Misri spoke of the aims behind Operation Sindoor, where Indian military attacked nine high-value terror sites deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
"Everybody knows that on April 22, 2025, Pakistani and Pakistan-trained terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba attacked Indian tourists brutally in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir in India. Twenty-five Indians and one Nepali national were cowardly murdered", he stated.
Comparing it with the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Misri stated, "Following the November 26, 2008, attacks in Mumbai, this is the most severe incident in terms of the number of civilians killed in a terrorist attack in India".
"The Pahalgam attack was very brutal, where the individuals there were shot in the head at close range and in front of their families. This way of killing intentionally traumatised the family members, and they were also told to return and deliver this message", he said.
The Foreign Secretary emphasized the strategic intention of the killings, when he said, "This attack was clearly aimed at disrupting the normal situation being restored in Jammu and Kashmir because tourism was again becoming the mainstay of the economy. The main purpose of this attack was to adversely affect it".
Emphasizing the financial cost, Misri stated, "Last year, as you all are aware, over 2.25 crore tourists came to Kashmir. The prime motive of this attack was, therefore, likely, to render the Union Territory backward by injuring its development and progress and to facilitate creating a fertile ground for the unabated cross-border terrorism from Pakistan".
In a direct response to the Pahalgam attack, India conducted Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructure employed by Pakistan-based groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and its proxy, The Resistance Front.
The strikes targeted camps and logistical centers thought to have been employed to plan and carry out the attack.
Misri underscored the character of India's military retaliation, stating that it was 'measured, calibrated and non-escalatory'.
He reaffirmed that the Indian strikes were targeting only the demolition of terror infrastructure, with no collateral damage to civilian or economic targets.
"The Indian military launched precision strikes. The aim was to destroy the roots of terror without triggering escalation", Misri said.
