India on Wednesday defended its airstrikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, describing the operation—codenamed Operation Sindoor—as a necessary and targeted response to the terrorist attacks carried out more than two weeks ago in Pahalgam.
The April 22 attack at the popular Indian destination had left 26 people killed.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, while addressing a news conference in New Delhi, said the attacks were aimed at dismantling infrastructure linked to the Resistance Front, a group affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, which had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam massacre, according to a report by Hindustan Times.
A group called the Resistance Front has claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack. This group is connected with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistan’s links with that group have been clearly established, the foreign secretary said.
He added, Pakistan has failed to act against these terrorist networks despite credible intelligence and repeated international concerns.
“Pakistan has made an identity in the world as a safe haven for terrorists,” he said.
India’s intelligence agencies, the foreign secretary said, had received reliable inputs indicating further planned attacks, prompting decisive military action, he added.