India's big message: Operation Sindoor still on, 'very firm' response if Pakistan escalates

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Cabinet ministers at a meeting

Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that Operation Sindoor is still on and that India will hit back if Pakistan escalates the situation, PTI reported quoting sources.

Singh, who was addressing an all-party meeting in New Delhi on India's strikes across LoC, said that around 100 terrorists were killed in Operation Sindoor which took place early Wednesday.

Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters after the meeting that it was convened to evolve a broad political consensus on the issue and leaders showed maturity and did not indulge in bickering.

"The Raksha mantri told the meeting that it was an ongoing operation and that is why he cannot share the technical details of Operation Sindoor that was launched by Indian armed forces," he said.

This, he said, is also the reason why no armed forces officials were present at the all-party meeting, as they were busy with the operations.

Separately, external affairs minister S Jaishankar also warned of a strong retaliation from India in case Pakistan attempts to respond to the targeted strikes.

During a bilateral meeting with Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Jaishankar said: "You are visiting India at a time when we are responding to a particularly barbaric attack on 22nd April in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. This attack compelled us to respond on 7th May by striking at the cross-border terrorist infrastructure. Our response was targeted and measured."

He said that India does not want to escalate the situation but will deliver a "very very firm response" if Pakistan retaliates.

"As a neighbour and close partner, it is important that you have a good understanding of the situation," he said.

The statements by Singh and Jaishankar signal Centre's firm position that India is ready to strike back even harder if Pakistan attempts to target the country.

In a joint operation by Army and Air Force, India targeted nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir during a post-midnight operation to avenge the deadly Pahalgam attack, which left 26 dead.

India categorically said that the strikes were not escalatory in nature and did not target Pakistani military establishments.