Foreign Secretary Explains Operation Sindoor: ‘Credible Inputs Prompted Strikes on Terror Sites in Pakistan and PoK’

Foreign Secretary Explains Operation Sindoor: India on Wednesday strongly justified its airstrikes, titled as 'Operation Sindoor', on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, with foreign secretary Vikram Misri saying that Pakistan did not take action against terrorist infrastructure after the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives on April 22.

Addressing a press briefing hours after India’s targeted operation, Vikram Misri said, “A group called the Resistance Front has claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack. This group is connected with Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistan links have been clearly established.”

He added that despite credible intelligence and mounting global concerns, Pakistan did not take any action to dismantle the terror networks operating from its soil. “Pakistan has made an identity in the world as a safe haven for terrorists,” he said.

Also Read: Operation Abhyaas: Nationwide Mock Drill on May 7 – Timings for Blackouts and Sirens Across India

“It is notable that India had given inputs about the TRF in the half-yearly report to the monitoring team of the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee in May and November 2024, bringing out its role as a cover for Pakistan-based terrorist groups earlier too. In December 2023, India had informed the monitoring team about Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammed, operating through small terror groups such as the TRF. Pakistan's pressure to remove references to TRF in the April 25 UN Security Council press statement is notable in this regard. Investigations into the Pahalgam terror attack have brought out the communication nodes of terrorists in and to Pakistan. The claims made by The Resistance Front and their reposting by known social media handles of the Lashkar-e-Taiba speak for themselves,” Misri said.

India’s intelligence agencies, the foreign secretary said, had received reliable inputs indicating further planned attacks, prompting decisive military action. “Our intelligence agencies monitoring terrorist activities have indicated that there could be more attacks on India, and it was felt essential to both stop and tackle them,” Misri explained.

Defending the pre-emptive strikes, he said, “This morning, India exercised its right to dismantle terror infrastructure.”

Also Read: Operation Sindoor: Indian Strikes Kill 10 Family Members, 4 Aides of JeM Chief Masood Azhar

"The latest attack in Pahalgam has, understandably, generated deep anger in Jammu and Kashmir and in other parts of India. Following the attacks, the Government of India naturally responded with a set of initial measures relating to our engagement with Pakistan. You're all aware of the decisions that were announced on the April 23. However, it was deemed essential that the perpetrators and planners of the April 22 attack be brought to justice.

“Despite a fortnight having passed since the attacks, there has been no demonstrable step from Pakistan to take action against the terrorist infrastructure on its territory or on territory under its control. Instead, all it has indulged in are denials and allegations. Our intelligence monitoring of Pakistan-based terrorist modules indicated that further attacks against India were impending. There was thus a compulsion both to deter and to preempt,” the foreign secretary said in the media briefing.

India's operations targeted main operational bases of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen throughout Pakistan and PoK. The air strikes followed a series of high-level interactions and intelligence reviews following the Pahalgam attack.

Also Read: Operation Sindoor Live: PM Modi Praises Indian Airstrikes at Cabinet Meeting After Pahalgam Attack