New Delhi: India has decided that any future act of terror will be considered an act of war against the country and will be responded to accordingly, top government sources said on Saturday.
The decision comes amid an intensifying conflict with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which had claimed the lives of 26 civilians, mostly tourists.
With this decision, the government seeks to draw red lines against terror incidents and makes clear its intention to firmly respond to the perpetrators and conspirators, in what is seen as a message to Pakistan — a country linked to various terrorist groups involved in targeting Indians, PTI reported.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired a high-level meeting with the top defence establishment to take stock of the emerging security situation amid the intensifying military conflict with Pakistan.
Modi met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the three service chiefs and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan to review the security scenario and chalk out strategies for the future course of action, officials said.
The meeting took place following Indian forces hit four airbases in Pakistan in the early hours of Saturday in response to Pakistan’s attack on 26 Indian locations, which the government confirmed during a media briefing on Saturday morning.
The conflict with Pakistan has intensified with the armed forces responding proportionately and adequately to Pakistani attempts to target Indian installations.
Pakistan’s military is moving its troops in the forward areas as the two countries continued to attack each other’s military facilities. “The Pakistan military is observed to be moving their troops to the border areas,” Colonel Sofiya Qureshi said at a press briefing along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
Precision strikes were carried out on Pakistani military targets in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, and Chunian, as well as radar sites at Pasrur and Sialkot aviation bases, using air-launched weapons from Indian fighter jets, she said during the briefing.
Pakistan fired drones at multiple locations for the second consecutive night on Friday. Heavy shelling was also reported from across the Line of Control (LoC) at multiple locations like Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri sector. Gunshots and explosions were also heard in Samba as India’s air defence system intercepted these drones.
The Foreign Secretary said Pakistan’s actions against India are being seen as “escalatory” and “provocative” in nature. “Pakistan’s actions constituted provocation, escalation. In response, India defended and reacted in a responsible and measured fashion,” he said.
Despite the intensity of the attacks, Indian forces successfully engaged and retaliated, though air bases in Udhampur, Pathankot, Adampur, Bhuj, and Bathinda sustained damage, and personnel were injured.
