Defence Minister Rajnath Singh In Srinagar, Meets Army Troops

New Delhi:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar on Thursday morning – in a first visit to the Valley after India’s Operation Sindoor, a military strike on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir to avenge the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

Mr Singh is accompanied by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

During the visit, the Defence Minister reviewed the overall security scenario and the combat readiness of the Indian Armed Forces and inspected the Pakistani shells that were dropped in the border areas. He also visited the Army’s 15 Corps Headquarters and interacted with the army personnel.

Addressing the armed forces, Mr Singh said, “I would like to bow to the supreme sacrifice of the brave jawans while they fought terrorism and terrorists. I pay respect to their memory. I also pay respect to the innocent civilians who were killed in Pahalgam. I also salute the valour of the injured soldiers and pray to God that they may recover at the earliest.”

Calling Operation Sindoor a “big commitment”, the Defence Minister said, “This is the biggest Operation against terror. We will go to any extent to end terrorism. Pakistan has to stop sheltering terrorists.”

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Punjab’s Adampur air base and interacted with soldiers.

Adampur was among the air force stations that Pakistan attempted to attack on the intervening night of May 9 and 10 after India’s “Operation Sindoor”. Pakistan also claimed that its hypersonic missiles fired from JF-17 fighter jets destroyed India’s S-400 air defence system in Adampur – a charge rejected by the Indian officials.

PM Modi delivered a strong message from the tarmac at the Adampur Air Force base.

“Our intent is clear…if there is another attack, India will respond. We saw this after the terror attack on an Army base in J&K’s Uri in 2016 and Balakot airstrikes (after the 2019 Pulwama attack). Operation Sindoor is the new normal,” the PM said, emphasising it will become a policy of Indian governments to take “decisive action against state-sponsored terror attacks on its citizens”.

In his speech, the PM also thanked the armed forces for their defence of the nation, both against Pakistan’s attacks and the many terrorist strikes of the past.

Operation Sindoor, India-Pak ceasefire

India, in an overnight operation, carried out 24 missile strikes in 25 minutes across nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, killing 100 terrorists. According to the government, it went for the “snake’s head and not foot soldiers” this time, demonstrating its new approach to killing terrorists within Pakistan.

Tensions between the two countries heightened after India’s Operation Sindoor. Since then, India repulsed multiple waves of drone and missile attacks by Pakistan targeting Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Punjab. By Sunday evening, Pakistan called for a ceasefire, but ended up violating it within hours.

The border has witnessed calm since then.