New Delhi: The first thing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did after the deadly terror strike in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025 that killed 26 innocents, was ask who was behind the attack, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has disclosed.
He recalled the events leading to the launch of the military operation against Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism, in an interview for the Discovery docuseries “Declassified: Operation Sindoor”.
The Prime Minister wanted to know who was behind the attack, seeking details about the attack. “And then his first question to me was — ‘Who has done it? Who is responsible? We should be very clear who the perpetrators are. I want it immediately,” the NSA said.
The 88-hour military operation aimed to destroy enemy camps in Pakistan’s Punjab province and Pakistan-occupied-Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), especially those linked to the Pahalgam terror attack, he said.
This was Doval’s first interview a little over a year after ‘Operation Sindoor’.
He recalled his meeting with PM Modi after he returned from Saudi Arabia, having cut his trip short.
“The prime minister returned. The foreign secretary had come to receive him. Then, at the airport itself, we had a meeting. First, he wanted to know all the facts,” he said, as reported by News18.
Doval reiterated that India’s generosity should not be mistaken as the country’s weakness In an apparent message to the world.
“The message to the world is very clear – India’s generosity or India being tolerant should not be mistaken for its weakness. India can take risks, India can hit hard, irrespective of the consequences,” he said.
The NSA also opened up on the planning of ‘Operation Sindoor’, saying India had decided that the mission would only focus on destroying terror camps in Pakistan.
India wanted the Pakistan army to understand that its “support to terrorism or inability to take effective action against the terrorists is something which is not tolerable to us”, he said.
After India carried out strikes against the terror facilities, Pakistan launched offensives against India, prompting New Delhi to hit back. The four-day cross-border exchange ended after Pakistan sought a ceasefire.
“Once anything starts, we are willing to go as far as it is necessary for a nation to preserve its sovereignty, and there are no limits on that. We fight till the last drop of blood,” Doval said.
“When the Prime Minister says that Operation Sindoor is alive, his intention is that the fight against terror will only be over when the last terrorist is eliminated,” he said, affirming the country’s resolve against terrorism.
