Prime Minister Narendra Modi was determined to go after those who were responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir, irrespective of whether they are on “earth, sky or in hell”, National Security Advisory (NSA) Ajit Doval has said.
The Resistance Force (TRF), an off-shoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack – the deadliest strike in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike. In the aftermath of the attack, India downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan and announced a series of measures, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 and revocation of visa services for Pakistani nationals. “We will go after them. Zameen mein ho, aasman mein ho, paatal mein ho, woh log jahan bhi hai (Whether they are on earth, in the sky or in hell, wherever they are). We will not forgive (them),” he added. It also coincided with US Vice-President JD Vance’s visit to New Delhi. The NSA recalled how the PM cut-short his trip to Saudi Arabia and returned to Delhi after the Pahalgam attack. “As soon as he returned, the Prime Minister held a meeting at the airport itself. First he wanted to know all the facts. Then his first question to me was who has done it? Who is behind it? We should be very clear on who the perpetrators are.
Doval also said that through Operation Sindoor, a series of strikes on terrorist hubs in Pakistan that was launched in response to the attack days later, PM Modi sought to send a message that the fight against terror will only be over “when the last terrorist is eliminated”. The Prime Minister’s message was clear, Doval said. “We wanted the Pakistani army to realise that this support of terrorism or inability to take effective action against the terrorists is something which is not tolerable to us,” Doval said. He also said India’s generosity and tolerance should not be mistaken for weakness, and asserted that the country can take risks and hit hard, irrespective of the consequences. “When the Prime Minister says that Operation Sindoor is alive, his intention is that the fight against terror will only be over till the last terrorist is eliminated,” he said. I want it immediately,” he said.
