New Delhi, Aug 15: In a clear and stern warning to Pakistan from the ramparts of Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said terrorists and those providing them safe haven will be treated alike and that Indian armed forces will deliver a “crushing” response to the enemy in case of any future misadventure.
Delivering his address on the country’s 79th Independence Day, Modi, referring to Operation Sindoor, said the Indian military punished the enemies beyond their imagination and that India will no longer tolerate Islamabad’s “nuclear blackmail” and will respond appropriately. The remarks came days after Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s threat of using nuclear weapons.
The prime minister also justified New Delhi’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) following the Pahalgam terror attack as he described the over six-decade-old pact as “unjust and one-sided”, asserting that “blood and water” will not flow together.
Explaining the impact of Operation Sindoor, Modi said Pakistan is still “sleepless” and that the devastation in that country has been so huge that every day brings new revelations and fresh information.
India responded to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 with several punitive diplomatic and economic measures, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor to target terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan, triggering four days of hostilities that ended with an understanding between the two sides on May 10.
“Our nation has endured terrorism for many decades. The heart of the country has been pierced time and again. Now, we have established a new normal: those who nurture and harbour terrorism, and those who empower terrorists, will no longer be seen as separate,” he said during his 103-minute address.
“They are all equal enemies of humanity, with no distinction between them.”
Highlighting India’s “new normal” in dealing with cross-border terrorism, Modi said the armed forces accomplished something that had not happened in decades as they reduced terrorist headquarters to dust and turned terror infrastructure into ruins in response to the Pahalgam attack.
“I feel great pride that today I have the opportunity to salute the brave warriors of Operation Sindoor from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Our courageous soldiers punished the enemies beyond anything they could have imagined.”
“On April 22, terrorists crossed the border and committed a massacre in Pahalgam, killing people after asking their religion, shooting husbands in front of their wives, and executing fathers in front of their children. The entire nation was filled with outrage, and the whole world was shocked by such a massacre.” Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed in the attack.
Modi said Operation Sindoor was the expression of that outrage, adding the government gave the military complete freedom to decide on the strategy, targets, and timing of India’s response to the Pahalgam attack.
“And our military accomplished something that had not happened in decades. Penetrating hundreds of kilometres into enemy territory, they reduced terrorist headquarters to dust and turned terrorist headquarters into ruins.”
The prime minister said India has now decided that it will no longer tolerate nuclear threats.
“The nuclear blackmail that has gone on for so long will no longer be endured. If our enemies continue this attempt in the future, our army will decide on its own terms, at the time of its choosing, in the manner it deems fit, and target the objectives it selects and we will act accordingly. We will give a fitting and crushing response,” he added.
The prime minister noted that waters of rivers originating from India are “irrigating the fields of our enemies, while the farmers and the soil of our own nation remain thirsty.”
“This(IWT) was an agreement that has caused unimaginable loss to our farmers for the past seven decades. Now, the water that rightfully belongs to Bharat will be reserved solely for Bharat, solely for the farmers of Bharat,” he said.
“The people of the country now fully understand how unjust and one-sided the Indus Waters Treaty has been.”
“The form of the Indus agreement that Bharat has endured for decades will not be tolerated any longer. This agreement is unacceptable to us in the interest of our farmers, and in the interest of the nation,” Modi said.
In a significant announcement relating to security, the prime minister said India will launch a mission named ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ to “expand, strengthen, and modernise” this national security shield.
Making a strong pitch for self-reliance, Modi also underlined the need for developing a jet engine within the country for India’s fighter aircraft programme, saying it is necessary to march ahead in the defence manufacturing sector.
The prime minister also described strategic autonomy and indigenous capabilities as key to decisively tackling threats, making self-reliance the bedrock of national strength, dignity, and the journey to a developed India by 2047.
“Indigenous capabilities, including Made-in-India weapons, enable India to act decisively and independently, proving that national security cannot rely on foreign dependence,” he said.
Earlier, two Mi-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force flew over the Red Fort and showered flower petals. One chopper carried the tricolour while the other displayed a banner of Operation Sindoor.
