India will pursue Pahalgam terrorists to ‘ends of earth’ and deliver justice: PM

Patna: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reached out to world leaders and announced India's intention to identify, track and punish every terrorist, their handlers and backers responsible for the April 22 carnage in Pahalgam that left 26 tourists dead.
In his first public address after the Pahalgam massacre, Modi said the brazen assault was not just on innocent tourists, but also on India's soul.
"Friends, today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world that India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the earth," Modi said while addressing a massive rally in Madhubani district.
India has already identified and released posters of three suspects involved in the Pahalgam attack, with two of them identified as Pakistani nationals.
Without naming Pakistan, Modi said every effort would be made to ensure that justice is served and those behind the attack punished. "The entire nation stands firm in this resolve. The willpower of 140 crore Indians will now break the backbone of the perpetrators of terror, he said, while thanking people of various countries and their leaders for standing by India during these troubled times.
Taking sips of water from a glass in the sweltering heat, Modi said from Kargil to Kanyakumari, the grief and outrage over this attack was shared equally across the nation.
"I want to say in clear terms that the terrorists responsible for this attack, along with those who conspired, will be given punishments beyond their imagination (Unki kalpana se badi saja milegi). They will face punishment, definitely", Modi said.
"The time has come to eliminate "bachi- khuchi zamin" (the remaining strongholds of terrorists)," Modi thundered, amidst cheering from the gathering.
India has carried out covert surgical strikes in the past in bordering states against terrorists and has now bolstered security from Kashmir in the north to Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram to the extreme northeast.
Appealing to everyone at the event to observe silence and pray for the departed souls in the attacks, Modi said his government was making every effort to ensure the speedy recovery of those injured in the Kashmir meadow attack and undergoing treatment.
"In this terrorist attack, someone lost his son, someone brothers, or life partners, while among the victims - some spoke Bengali, other spoke Kannada, Marathi, Odia, Gujarati, and someone was the son of Bihar," underscoring that the victims came from diverse linguistic and regional backgrounds.
Before concluding his speech in poll-bound Bihar, Modi said peace and security are the most critical prerequisites for rapid development. "A ‘Viksit Bihar' (a developed Bihar) is essential for a Viksit Bharat (developed India)," he added.