Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first address to the nation after Operation Sindoor showed India's commitment to confronting terrorist threats with decisive action, said Washington DC-based South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman. Analysing PM's speech, he noted that Modi established India's position affirming that it would not be deterred by nuclear threats when responding to terrorist attacks on its soil.
"It clearly emphasised the fact that India was responding to a horrific terrorist attack that in India's view is linked to Pakistan, and also not surprisingly, there are significant levels of expressions of support for the Indian military forces," Kugelman told ANI.
Highlighting what he considered the most significant element of Modi's address, Kugelman said: "I was really struck in his comments about India having essentially reset the terms for how it will respond to these types of attacks in the future and in terms of emphasising responding decisively and robustly and not being deterred by nuclear weapons."
In particular, Kugelman pointed to PM Modi's refusal to separate terrorist organizations from governments that harbour them, calling this distinction noteworthy.
In his address to the nation, Prime Minister Modi on Monday evening set India's parameters for diplomatic engagement saying that if any future talks happened with Pakistan, they would focus exclusively on terrorism and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
PM issued a stark warning to Pakistan against its continued support for terrorism, stating it "will destroy Pakistan one day." He emphasized that peace cannot be achieved without dismantling terrorist infrastructure.
He also noted that Pak military reached out to India’s DGMO on the afternoon of May 10 and pleaded for ceasefire assuring that it would cease all terrorist activities and military aggression against India. In light of this assurance, PM informed that India reviewed the situation and decided to temporarily suspend its counter-operations against Pakistan’s terrorist and military installations.
He reiterated that this suspension is not a conclusion — and India will continue to assess Pakistan’s every move in the coming days, ensuring that its future actions align with its commitments. Also Read: Top 10 takeaways from PM Modi's address to the nation
Operation Sindoor came in response to an April 22 terror attack by Pakistani terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba's offshoot The Resistance Front (TRF) in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives. India retaliated by conducting precision strikes against terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, eliminating over 100 terrorists in the process.
This military action follows India's previous counter-terrorism operations, including the 2016 surgical strike along the Line of Control and 2019 aerial strikes on a terror camp in Balakot in Pakistan.
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