'Operation Sindoor' targeted terrorists, not civilians: Foreign Secretary

India's Operation Sindoor was a precise response to the Pahalgam attack, targeting only terror sites in Pakistan and PoK, says Foreign Secretary Misri

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday strongly refuted Pakistan’s claims and propaganda surrounding India's precision strikes, clarifying that 'Operation Sindoor' was a targeted counterterrorism operation—not an act of aggression against civilians.

 

Addressing the media, Misri described the strikes as a "legitimate and necessary response" in the exercise of India’s right to self-defence. He said the operation, conducted in the early hours of Wednesday, struck nine locations across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) that were confirmed terrorist launchpads.

 

“Our intention is not to escalate matters. We are only responding to the escalation,” Misri said. “No military targets have been hit. Only terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan has been struck. India’s response is non-escalatory, precise, and measured.”   

 

 

The strikes come in the wake of the terror attack in Pahalgam, for which The Resistance Front (TRF) - an offshoot of Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba - claimed responsibility not once, but twice. Misri pointed out that despite TRF’s public admission, Pakistan opposed the mention of the group during deliberations at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

 

India’s intelligence agencies, according to the Foreign Secretary, had gathered credible inputs suggesting that more terror strikes were being planned. This intelligence, he said, made it imperative for India to act swiftly and decisively.

 

“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 said. 

 

Misri also condemned Pakistan’s reaction to the operation, including what he described as an "attempt to mislead the public" by claiming to have downed Indian jets.

 

“There is nothing surprising in it,” Misri said. “After all, this is a country in which lies started as soon as it was born. In 1947, when the Pakistani Army claimed Jammu and Kashmir, they lied not to any random person but to the United Nations.”

 

Taking aim at Pakistan’s internal practices, Misri questioned the logic behind state funerals for individuals India identified as terrorists.

 

“It’s odd that funerals of civilians are being carried out with coffins wrapped in their national flag, and state honours are being accorded. The individuals eliminated at these facilities were terrorists. Giving state funerals to terrorists may be a practice in Pakistan, but it doesn’t seem to make much sense to us,” he said. 

Misri further reminded the media of Pakistan’s long-standing and well-documented ties to global terrorism.

 

“Pakistan’s reputation as the epicentre of global terrorism is rooted in a number of instances. I don’t need to remind where Osama Bin Laden was found and who called him a martyr,” he said, adding, “Pakistan is also home to a large number of UN proscribed terrorists and those blacklisted by other nations. Even their defence minister and former foreign minister recently admitted their country’s link to terror groups.” 

 

Misri concluded by reiterating India’s commitment to peace, but warned that any further escalation from Pakistan would be met with appropriate response.

 

“Any further action by Pakistan, some of which we are seeing today, is nothing but escalation once again, and will be responded to and is being responded to appropriately,” he added.