Defence Minister Rajnath Singh interacts with IAF jawans at Srinagar airbase

SRINAGAR: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday visited the Srinagar airbase in Jammu and Kashmir and met Indian Air Force (IAF) jawans. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also accompanied the Defence Minister.

The personnel raised slogans of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ as they interacted with Rajnath Singh. Singh also interacted with soldiers at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar Jammu and Kashmir and boosted their confidence by appreciating their valour and courage during the Operation Sindoor.

#WATCH | Srinagar, J&K: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and CM Omar Abdullah join the jawans at Badami Bagh Cantonment in raising slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. The Defence Minister addressed the jawans here. #OperationSindoor pic.twitter.com/r2sCXZGKkB

— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2025

During his interactions with the soldiers, the Defence Minister patted Jawans’ shoulders and shook their hands to express his appreciation. Rajnath Singh also inspected Pakistani shells that were dropped in J-K during cross border shelling after India struck nine terror infrastructure under Operation Sindoor.

Appreciating the soldiers for destroying Pakistani chowkis, Rajnath Singh said that the enemy will never be able to forget Op Sindoor.

#WATCH | J&K: Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel raise slogans of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ as they interact with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at Srinagar Air Base. pic.twitter.com/0Hxz1WWmiD

— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2025

“After Pahalgam attack, the manner in which the people of Jammu and Kashmir expressed their anger against Pakistan and terrorists – I also salute the people of Jammu and Kashmir. I am here to feel that energy which destroyed the enemies. The manner in which you destroyed Pakistani chowkis and bunkers across the border, I think the enemy will never be able to forget it.”

During his address, Rajnath Singh slammed Pakistan’s ability to handle the nuclear weapons and asked that the global world that are the nuclear weapons safe in the hands of such a “rogue” nation like Pakistan.

“The world knows that our army’s aim is accurate and when they hit the target, they leave the counting to the enemies. How strong is India’s pledge against terrorism today, it can be known from the fact that we did not even care about their nuclear blackmail. The whole world has seen how irresponsibly Pakistan has threatened India. Today, from the land of Srinagar, I want to raise this question whether nuclear weapons are safe in the hands of such an irresponsible and rogue nation. I believe that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons should be taken under the supervision of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” he said.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.

After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and airfields across 11 airbases in Pakistan.

After this, on May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced. (ANI)