NEW DELHI: In his first public remarks after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India will pursue the perpetrators of the dastardly act to the ends of the earth, break their backs and raze them to the ground.
The PM termed the attack as an assault not just on the innocent tourists, but the very soul of India and said the “perpetrators and conspirators of the act would get a punishment they would never have imagined”.
Sending out a firm warning to Pakistan, the PM, addressing the country and the world from Madhubani in election-bound Bihar, said India would identify, track and punish every terrorist and his backer and none would go unpunished.
“Today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world that we will pursue them to the ends of the earth. India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Every effort will be made to ensure justice is done. The entire nation is firm in this resolve. Everyone who believes in humanity is with us. I thank the people of various countries and their leaders who have stood with us in these times,” said the PM, switching to English in between as he spoke on the occasion of a National Panchayati Raj Day event.
The tone and tenor of Modi’s maiden public statement on the Pahalgam attack was a strong reiteration of India’s policy of zero tolerance to terror and a signal that the country would employ whatever was deemed necessary to send out a befitting national response. “Hear me loud and clear. The perpetrators and conspirators of this attack are in for a punishment beyond their imagination. Time has come to raze the remaining ground of terror operatives forever,” he said in the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and ruling NDA partners in the state.
The PM’s remarks followed a similar assertion by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh yesterday as he said “India would not just track terrorists, but also those who operated behind the curtains”. It was a clear message to Pakistan. Rajnath has already stated that India would offer a befitting response to the Kashmir terror attack in the near future.
The PM, in his tributes to the terror attack deceased, said they came from different parts of the country and spoke different languages. “The killing of innocent tourists by terrorists has pained the entire country,” he said, adding the government was doing its best to bring succour to the survivors.