PM Modi hails 'Operation Sindoor' as moment of pride in Cabinet meeting: Report

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hailed the Indian armed forces for carrying out targeted strikes at terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, PTI reported, quoting sources. The prime minister chaired a meeting of the Union Cabinet, hours after 'Operation Sindoor' was launched to destroy terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.Soon after defence minister Rajnath Singh informed the Cabinet about Operation Sindoor, the entire Cabinet hailed the action and the prime minister's leadership with thumping of desks.PM Modi is also learnt to have said that his government will have zero tolerance towards terror. The prime minister also separately met the defence minister and NSA Ajit Doval and took stock of the evolving situation, sources said.Retaliating against the Pahalgam terror attack, the armed forces on early Wednesday carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke.The prime minister had earlier given full operational freedom to the armed forces to decide on the targets, manner and timing of the action against terror in the wake of the Pahalgam attack in which 26 civilians were killed.The details of the Operation Sindoor were shared during the media briefing addressed by the foreign secretary Vikram Misri, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Col Sophiya Qureshi.While speaking to the media, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh who briefed the media along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Col Sofiya Qureshi said that the 'Operation Sindoor' was launched to deliver justice to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and their families.Wing Commander Vyomika Singh informed that a total of nine terror sites were targetted and successfully destroyed. She asserted that the locations were selected so that there was no damage to civilians and their infrastructure."Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces to deliver justice to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and their families. Nine terrorist camps were targeted and successfully destroyed... The locations were so selected to avoid damage to civilian infrastructures and loss of any civilian lives", Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said.Meanwhile, during the press briefing, Col Sofiya Qureshi presented the videos of destruction of terror camps, including from the Muridke and where David Headley and Ajmal Kasab, perpetrators of 2008 Mumbai attacks received training.Other than Muridke, Sarjal camp in Sialkot, Markaz Ahle Hadith, Barnala and Markaz Abbas, Kotli and Mehmoona Joya camp, Sialkot were targeted in the strikes conducted by the Indian Army, Col Qureshi informed.The foreign secretary said that the attack on Pahalgam was driven by an objective of undermining the return of normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir."The attack in Pahalgam was marked with extreme barbarity, with the victims mostly killed with head shots at close range and in front of their family...the family members were deliberately traumatised through the manner of killing, accompanied by the exhortation that they should take back the message. The attack was clearly driven by the objective of undermining normalcy returning to Kashmir," he said.