Prime Minister Narendra Modi constantly monitored Operation Sindoor throughout the night. Indian armed forces retaliated against the Pahalgam terror attack, launching precision strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including in Bahawalpur, a stronghold of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Days after the terrorist attack in which 26 people – mostly tourists – were shot dead, PM Modi had vowed that India would hunt down and punish the perpetrators. Last week, defence minister Rajnath Singh, hinting at the imminent attack, said that it was his duty to give a befitting reply to those who dared to attack India.
India's defence ministry said in a statement that Operation Sindoor strikes were "focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature."
The Indian statement said, “A little while ago, the Indian Armed Forces launched 'Operation Sindoor', hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.”
"No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and the method of execution," it added.
Strikes on all nine targets were successful. Among the nine sites targeted are the JeM headquarters in Bahawalpur and the Lashkar-e-Taiba's headquarters in Muridke.
"These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered," the defence ministry statement added.
The Indian Army said in a post on X," Justice is Served".
Rajnath Singh posted: "Bharat Mata Ki Jai".
Pakistan Army spokesperson, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, claimed the missiles were fired by India at Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Bahawalpur.
He said Pakistan's air force jets were airborne. He also claimed that the strikes were launched from within India's airspace.
"Let me say it unequivocally: Pakistan will respond to this at a time and place of its choosing," he added.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif termed the Indian strikes an "act of war".
Source: ANI