Crossing the Red Line
India launched a targeted military strike dubbed “Operation Sindoor”, striking nine terrorist infrastructures in Pakistan and PoK to avenge the horrific killing in Pahalgam.
- What happened in the early hours of Wednesday (May 7, 2025)
was not unexpected after the gruesome terror attack in the picturesque Baisaran
valley near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 tourists, including a
Nepali citizen, who were targeted by their religion. India launched a targeted
military strike dubbed “Operation Sindoor”, striking nine terrorist
infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to avenge the
horrific killing in Pahalgam. The targeted terror camps were linked to various
groups, including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul
Mujahideen (HM), located in Bahawalpur, Tehra Kalan, Sialkot, Barnala, Kotli,
and Muzaffarabad. Hours after the strikes, the Ministry of Defence issued a
statement saying that the move was “focused, measured, and non-escalatory in
nature”; that no Pakistani military facilities were targeted. India is not new
to cross-border terrorism perpetrated by terrorist outfits harboured and bred
by Pakistan; recent terror acts include the Uri attack in 2016 that killed 19
soldiers and the 2019 JeM suicide bomber attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama
that killed 40 personnel. And then the Pahalgam massacre on April 22, 2025.
India had responded to the previous attacks with much restraint by striking
terror launchpads and training camps. This time, India has responded with
greater vigour and more resolve. By hitting camps located deep inside Pakistan,
India has sent out a clear message that it won’t tolerate terrorism anymore and
would go to any extent to root out terrorists and their networks. Considering
the brutality of the recent attack, wherein tourists from one religious
community were picked out and killed in front of their families, a befitting
response was necessary. It was a clear case of crossing the red line. And no
sane country will remain silent to such inhuman acts.
- For India, it’s an act of self-defence and to deter such
attacks in the future, while Islamabad has termed it an “act of war”, vowing to
retaliate. Even as the situation is threatening to take a dangerous turn with
the exchange of heavy shelling in the border areas and drone attacks being
reported, the international community is making all efforts to de-escalate the
tension. Well, India has made it clear that it has no intention to escalate the
situation but would retaliate very firmly in the event of any military attacks
on the country. So, Pakistan’s response will determine how the situation plays
out. What is clear is that an all-out war between the nuclear-armed neighbours
will be costly, from human casualties to economic disruption. While
de-escalating the present situation is necessary in the interest of everyone,
including the two countries involved, it is indispensable to take measures to
avoid recurrence of terror activities. For this, the world community should
speak in one voice against terrorism and pressure countries, including
Pakistan, to not harbour terror outfits.
