Defense minister Rajnath Singh on 25 August said that Indian soldiers didn’t kill terrorists in Operation Sindoor based on their religion but on their deeds.
He asserted that the “target was hit precisely” as the forces responded strongly.
“Our soldiers did not kill terrorists based on their religion but on the basis of their deeds,” he said while addressing a programme here. Our forces responded strongly in Operation Sindoor. The target that was decided was hit precisely,” Singh said.
India upholds the principle of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” and does not discriminate based on caste or religion, he mentioned, adding, however, the terrorists targeted and killed individuals after identifying their religion.
“The difference we now see in education (sector) compared to the past is India’s real strength. This is the real change and this is the future of India,” Singh stated.
Know about Operation Sindoor
Operation Sindoor was carried out on 7 May with “precision strikes” in Pakistan and PoJK, which came in wake of Pahalgam attack on 22 April that claimed 26 lives, mainly tourists. On May 10, Indian armed forces targetted Pakistan air bases, namely Rafiqui, Murid, Nur Khan, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunian, Pasrur and Sialkot as a result of Pakistan’s shelling and attacks across the border areas in the country.
With inputs from Operation Mahadev
Later during Monsoon session of Parliament, Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed that three terrorists involved in killing Pahalgam victims have been neutralised in Operation Mahadev.
“I want to inform the house that the security forces, the army, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Jammu and Kashmir police (J&K), as part of Operation Mahadev, on Monday, have eliminated the three terrorists – Suleiman Shah, [Hamza] Afghan, and Jibran [Bhai] – who brutally killed the innocent civilians in front of their families after asking about their religion in Pahalgam. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through Operation Sindoor, ensured that their masters were eliminated,” Shah stated.
“The weapons recovered from Dachigam on Monday, one M9 [M4] carbine and 2 AK 47 rifles, were flown to Chandigarh on Monday night in a special flight for examination at the Chandigarh Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL). The shells found at the Pahalgam attack site were matched with the barrels of the rifles and experts confirmed that these rifles were used in Pahalgam attack,” he added.
The Home Minister stated that the terrorists’ identities were confirmed by four individuals, including Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, who had sheltered them and provided food a day before the attack. Both were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on 22 June.