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In the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's national address on Operation Sindoor, Washington DC-based South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman said that the address underscored India's resolve to respond to terrorist threats with "decisive and robust" action and not being deterred by nuclear weapons.
Kugelman further noted that the most significant part of the address was the clarity with which PM Modi drew a line between terrorist groups and the governments that sponsor them. While speaking with ANI, Kugelman said, "It clearly emphasised the fact that India was responding to a horrific terrorist attack that in India's view is linked to Pakistan, and also not surprisingly, there are significant levels of expressions of support for the Indian military forces. I think that what really stands out is the focus on the current operation and India's position moving forward when it comes to the issue of terrorism." He added, "I was really struck in his comments about India having essentially reset the terms for how it will respond to these types of attacks in the future and in terms of emphasising responding decisively and robustly and not being deterred by nuclear weapons. One of the final points he made is not distinguishing between terrorists and the government that sponsors them..." PM Modi on Monday reiterated India's firm stance on talks with Pakistan, saying any future discussions will be confined to terrorism and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). In his address to the nation following Operation Sindoor, PM Modi said, "Today, I would also like to tell the global community that our stated policy has been: if there are talks with Pakistan, it will be only on terrorism; and if there are talks with Pakistan, it will be only on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)." Prime Minister Modi warned that Pakistan's support for terrorism could lead to its downfall. He added that achieving peace is impossible without destroying the terrorist infrastructure. "The way the Pakistani army and the Pakistan government are encouraging terrorism, it will destroy Pakistan one day. If Pakistan wants to survive, it will have to destroy its terror infrastructure. There is no other way to peace," he added. India had launched a surgical strike on terror launch pads along LoC in 2016 and aerial strikes on a terror camp in Pakistan in 2019. Twenty-six people were killed in the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22. India responded through Operation Sindoor and launched precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK), in which over 100 terrorists were killed. The subsequent aggression by Pakistan was appropriately responded to by the Indian Armed Forces, who also pounded Pakistan's air bases. (ANI)
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