Top Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the defence minister himself, have previously vowed to retaliate as Pakistan, who is accused of masterminding the April 22 attack, feels the jitters.
Amid worsening ties between India and Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam attack that claimed 26 lives, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said it is his responsibility to give a “befitting” reply to those who dare to hurt India.
His statement assumes greater significance as tensions with Pakistan are spiralling by the day. “I want to assure you that under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, what you desire will certainly happen,” Singh said at an event in Delhi on Sunday.
“It is my responsibility to give a befitting reply to those who dare to attack our country. You all know Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s work ethic and perseverance,” he vowed.
Earlier, top Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the defence minister himself, vowed to retaliate over the Pahalgam attack.
Just days after the Pahalgam attack, the Prime Minister granted the Indian Armed Forces “complete operational freedom” to respond to the terror attack, government sources told India Today TV.
Notably, India carried out surgical strikes and Balakot air strikes in response to the 2016 Uri terror attack and the 2019 Pulwama attack, respectively, by Pakistan-backed terrorists, both under the Modi government.
Even after the Pahalgam attack, PM Modi vowed that the attackers and their backers would be identified, tracked, and punished beyond imagination.
Meanwhile, amid constant warnings from top government and opposition leaders, Pakistan has put its security forces, security agencies and armed forces on high alert, fearing military retaliation from India in the near future.
A day after the attack in the Baisaran Valley, Rajnath Singh warned that India would identify and bring to justice everyone who conspired against it.
“We will not only reach out to those who have perpetrated this incident. We will also reach out to those who, sitting behind the scenes, have conspired to commit such nefarious acts on the soil of India,” Singh said while adding that India stood united against terror and has zero-tolerance policy against it.
