The North News
New Delhi, May 7
India has confirmed that its military launched precision airstrikes against terrorist infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, terming it a targeted response to the brutal killing of civilians in the Pahalgam terror attack of Jammu and Kashmir. At a special briefing in New Delhi on Wednesday, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the strikes, under the banner of “Operation Sindoor,” were a necessary measure after Pakistan failed to act against the terrorists. The assault in Pahalgam had claimed the lives of 26 people, including 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen, marking the deadliest terror incident in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
“The investigation into the Pahalgam terrorist attack has exposed direct operational links between the attackers and Pakistani-based terror networks,” said Misri. “Despite the passage of two weeks, Pakistan has taken no demonstrable action against these terror infrastructures.”
Misri said that the group The Resistance Front (TRF), which took responsibility for the killings, is a proxy for the UN-designated terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and backed by the Pakistan. He cited reposts of the group’s claim on LeT-affiliated social media accounts and said India had presented these findings to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee in mid-2024.
According to witness testimonies and preliminary forensics, the victims were shot at close range in front of their family members. Many had travelled from various parts of India and Nepal to visit the scenic valley, he said..
“This was not only an act of terror but a deliberate attempt to disrupt communal harmony and destabilise the return to normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir,” Misri said. He argued that the attack aimed to derail the region’s tourism sector, which last year welcomed a record 23 million visitors.
India’s strikes targeted nine identified locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. According to defence sources, the operations were carried out entirely from Indian soil using precision-guided munitions and loitering drones. A joint task force involving the Army, Air Force, and Navy executed the mission.
The Indian government stated that the attacks focused solely on terrorist infrastructure and avoided targeting Pakistan’s military assets.
He said that the action falls under the right to self-defence under international law, especially in the absence of credible action from the Pakistani government against the perpetrators.
Misri added that Pakistan has long offered a safe haven to internationally proscribed groups such as LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad. “There is a long track record, backed by documented evidence, of Pakistan being used as a base for cross-border terrorism,” he said. India has previously raised concerns at the United Nations about Pakistan’s attempts to remove references to TRF in official UN Security Council documents, most recently during deliberations in April 2025.
