PM Modi to address nation at 8 pm today

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the country at 8 pm on Monday. The Prime Minister had said last month that the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack would face punishment beyond their imagination. India, on May 7, launched precision strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, in which over 100 terrorists were killed.

The subsequent aggression by Pakistan was effectively repelled by the Indian Armed Forces, who also pounded Pakistan Air Bases.

India had also taken several steps to send a strong message to Pakistan over its support for cross-border terrorism and has put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.

Earlier in the day, Army DGMO Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, Director General Air Operations Air Marshal AK Bharti and Director General Naval Operations, Vice Admiral AN Pramod, held a joint press conference and narrated how India’s air defence preparedness has been firm and impregnable in the face of Pakistan’s aggression.

Air Marshal AK Bharti also spoke about the success of Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, targeting nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).

He said India had struck terrorists and their support networks, but the Pakistan military chose to intervene, and any loss from their side is their sole responsibility.

India has also said that its response has been firm, focused and measured to the escalation by Pakistan.

Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, who had interacted with the media at a joint press conference on Sunday also, said his Pakistan counterpart had proposed that “we cease hostilities”.

“My communication with the Pak DGMO was conducted at 15:35 hrs yesterday (Saturday) and resulted in cessation of cross-border firing and air intrusions by either side with effect from 17:00 hrs, May 10, after he proposed that we cease hostilities. We also decided to further speak on May 12 at 12:00 hrs to discuss the modalities that would enable the longevity of this understanding,” Lt Gen Ghai said.

“However, disappointingly, expectedly, it took only a couple of hours for the Pakistan Army to violate these arrangements by cross-border and across the Line of Control (LoC) firing, followed by drone intrusions last night and in the early hours of today. These violations were responded to robustly,” he added.

Lt Gen Ghai said his counterpart was informed about the violations through a hotline message. India made its intent clear that it would respond to the same “fiercely” if repeated, for which the Chief of Army Staff has granted full authority to the Army Commanders.

Operation Sindoor was launched in response to a ghastly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam last month in which 26 people were killed. (ANI)