Nikki Haley supports Operation Sindoor, says 'Pakistan can't play victim'

Former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has backed India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 tourists, saying India had every right to retaliate and that Pakistan can't

Indian-American Republican leader Nikki Haley on Thursday voiced strong support for India’s right to respond militarily following the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which left 26 civilians dead. She said that Pakistan could not portray itself as a "victim" in such circumstances.

 

Her statement comes after India’s response - Operation Sindoor - involved precision strikes on nine terror camps located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, using missiles and drones.

 

“Terrorists launched an attack that killed dozens of Indian citizens. India had every right to retaliate and defend itself. Pakistan does not get to play the victim. No country gets a pass for supporting terrorist activity,” Haley wrote in a post on X. 

 

 

Following the Pahalgam attack, Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence (DNI), had also said that the United States supports India's "hunt" for the perpetrators of the "horrific Islamist terrorist attack" in Pahalgam that took place last month.

 

"We stand in solidarity with India in the wake of the horrific Islamist terrorist attack, targeting and killing 26 Hindus in Pahalgam," Gabbard wrote on X. She added, "We are with you and support you as you hunt down those responsible for this heinous attack."

Who is Nikki Haley?

Haley, who previously served as the governor of South Carolina and as the US ambassador to the United Nations during Donald Trump's first term as US president, was the first Indian-American to hold a cabinet-level role in the US.

 

She launched her campaign for the 2024 US presidential election in 2023 but withdrew from the race in March the following year. During her campaign, she had pledged to halt financial aid to countries like Pakistan if elected.

 

“A weak America pays the bad guys: Hundreds of millions to Pakistan, Iraq, and Zimbabwe last year alone. A strong America won't be the world's ATM,” she had said at the time. 

 

In an op-ed for the New York Post, Haley recalled backing Trump’s decision to cut nearly $2 billion in military assistance to Pakistan during her time at the UN, criticising the country’s support for groups that endanger American troops.

Measured, non-escalatory military action: Misri

Earlier on Thursday, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri briefed reporters in New Delhi, describing the operation as a "measured, non-escalatory, proportionate, and responsible" military action. He said the purpose was to dismantle terrorist networks and prevent any future attacks.

 

Misri stressed that India found it necessary to act, given that Islamabad had taken no visible steps to dismantle terrorist infrastructure within its borders or areas under its control, following the April 22 attack.