"We Only Struck Those Who Killed Our Innocent": Rajnath Singh On Op Sindoor

Airstrikes under Operation Sindoor to avenge the Pahalgam attack were carried out with precision, caution and sensitivity, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said today.

Speaking at the inauguration of Border Roads Organisation's 50 infrastructure projects across six States and 2 Union Territories, Mr Singh thanked the armed forces for the successful operation that struck targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

Mr Singh said India had exercised its right to respond after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam killed 25 tourists and one Kashmiri pony ride operator. The terrorists had cross-border linkages and an investigation pointed to Pakistan's role, as in several attacks on Indian soil in the past.

The Defence Minister said India's armed forces had scripted history and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for supporting the forces. In a Ramayana reference, Mr Singh said India's counterstrike followed the ideal of Lord Hanuman when he destroyed Ashok Vatika, the grove where Ravana imprisoned Sita. "Jin mohi mara, te mai mare (I struck those who struck me). We only killed those who killed our innocents." 

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our forces launched Operation Sindoor and destroyed terror training camps and gave a strong response. And this was done after meticulous planning. To hit terrorists' morale, this action was restricted to only their camps and infrastructure. I salute the bravery of our armed forces," he said.

India carried out 24 missile strikes at nine locations in Pakistan and PoK last night in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 innocents were shot dead in cold blood in one of the most heinous acts of terror the country has seen.

Seventy terrorists were killed and about 60 were injured, sources in the government have said. Operation Sindoor, the sources said, was more than a military response. "It was a statement of strategic resolve. Through 24 precisely coordinated missile strikes across nine terrorist-linked locations, India demonstrated that it would no longer tolerate cross-border terrorism, nor the complicity of state institutions that enable it," a source said.

The target locations included Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Bahawalpur, Rawalakot, Chakswari, Bhimber, Neelum Valley, Jhelum, and Chakwal. These locations, the sources said, were identified as hubs of terrorist activity. The precision missiles targeted camps affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.