New Delhi:
Pakistan has to understand that terrorism is unacceptable else no amount of dialogues will reach the desired conclusion, former External Affairs Salman Khurshid said today. Meanwhile, India cannot be too optimistic and drop her guard, he added. He also praised Öperation Sindoor” saying, “Salute our officers, proud of them… remarkable decisions by the armed forces”.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Mr Khurshid said, “No matter what we do and no matter what we try to reach out on, ultimately, there’s a bottom line and that bottom line is terrorism”.
India has said any more terror attacks will be considered an act of war and will be dealt with accordingly. But the former minister said even responding to an act of war has its own constraints.
“Ultimately, Pakistan has to come to terms with that clear articulation that terrorism is unacceptable in any form of manifestation. And unless that is done, I don’t think that there is a chance for a great deal to be achieved or accomplished,” he added.
Asked if India has communicated to the world its ability to dismantle the Pakistan-based terror network, Mr Khurshid said it is a very “sensitive topic” and questioned if India can sit back and think that the terror network is demolished and will not be seen any time soon. “I think that would be too optimistic and that would be dropping our guard,” he added.
Two of the nine places targeted during the strikes against terror bases during Operation Sindoor were Muridke, the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Bhawalpur, the chief base of Jaish-e-Mohammad.
Pakistan, after four days of aggression and India’s retaliation following Operation Sindoor, called for a ceasefire yesterday. But violated it within hours.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, in a press briefing, stressed that India takes “very, very serious notice of these violations.”
Since Friday, Pakistan had kept up drone and missile attacks across Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, pockets of Punjab and Gujarat.
Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting with the top defence establishment, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, and the tri-services chiefs.
