Rajnath Singh Warns Pakistan: Operation Sindoor Paused, Not Terminated

 New Delhi: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that Operation Sindoor was paused, and India would not hesitate to resume it in case Pakistan dared another misadventure. “Terrorists thought India a soft state but this operation showed that we could go to any extent to protect our sovereignty,” he said

Initiating the special discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Upper House, “ If Pakistan cannot take action against terrorism on its soil, India is ready to help the neighbouring country as Indian forces are capable of fighting terror on the other side of the border as well.”

"India wants terrorism to end in the whole world, including Pakistan... I had advised Pakistan earlier as well, and today I want to say again, that if you are unable to take effective action against terrorism in Pakistan, take India's help. India's forces are capable of taking effective action against terrorism this side of the border, as well as on the other side. Pakistan has already witnessed this during Operation Sindoor."

"If Pakistan commits any terror incidents in future, we will re-launch Operation Sindoor without hesitation," he said, adding "Our vision is that Operation Sindoor should carry on continuously. There can be a comma but no full stop."

“India is fully prepared for an even more intense and decisive action. Pakistan and anyone who tries to cast an evil eye must remember that the Indian Armed Forces possess the strength and capability to deal with every situation,” he said.

Responding to the comments made by certain quarters that India should have reclaimed Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir during Operation Sindoor, the defence minister stated that "It has always been the stand of the BJP that the day is not far when the people of PoK will have the privilege of becoming a part of the Indian governance system," he said.

He also congratulated the security forces for killing three terrorists who were involved in the Pahalgam attack in which 26 people were killed. "These are the terrorists who killed people in Pahalgam," the defence minister said.

Singh pointed out that India and Pakistan gained independence at the same time, but today India was internationally recognised as “the Mother of Democracy” and Pakistan as “the Father of Global Terrorism”. He stated that Pakistan has always harboured terrorists, and Pahalgam is just one example of the long list of crimes committed by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

“Pakistan always tries to justify terrorism. Therefore, it is important that in the fight against terrorism, we eliminate not only the terrorists but also the entire terror infrastructure. This is why our Prime Minister has said that Operation Sindoor is still going on,” the defence minister added.

"Our action was in self-defence, it was not expansionist...The aim was to destroy terror infrastructure and give the message of zero tolerance for terror," Singh said, adding that the political-military objective was to punish Pakistan for using terrorism as a proxy war.

The defence minister also said Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations urged India to stop the hostilities, and India accepted it on the condition that the operation would be suspended, not terminated.

He said the forces achieved the goals set under the operation. "Through Operation Sindoor, we have given a clear message, India can go to any extent against terrorism," he said.

Appealing to the international community to stop funding for Pakistan, stating that a major portion goes into funding terror activities, the defence minister said, "It is essential to expose countries that fund and provide shelter to terrorism in front of the world today. A large portion of the money or economic aid that Pakistan receives is spent on the factory of terrorism." He also slammed the United Nations over Pakistan's appointment to the key counter-terrorism committee. He stated that the decision was similar to “making the cat guarding milk”.

"The United Nations Security Council has appointed Pakistan as the Vice-Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Panel. The surprising thing is that this Counter-Terrorism Panel was formed after the 9/11 attacks. It is also no secret that Pakistan gave shelter to the mastermind of that attack," he said.

“Declared terrorists such as Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar roam around freely in Pakistan and senior officers of the Pakistan Army are seen attending the funerals of terrorists. It is a mockery of the global fight against terrorism that Pakistan is expected to lead the global community against terrorism, he added.