India, in a massive retaliatory move against terrorism following the Pahalgam attack, launched missile strikes on nine terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir early Wednesday. The Indian armed forces launched 'Operation Sindoor' to as it carried out strikes against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi monitoring everything closely.
Tensions between India and Pakistan, which started simmering after the deadly Pahalgam attack, have intensified further following Wednesday's strikes. However, Indians, especially the families of the victims who lost their lives in April 22 attack, have thanked the government and PM Modi for ensuring justice was served.
Amid the ongoing situation, a video of PM Modi delivering a speech in Bihar has gone resurfaced and gone viral. The speech was the first time that the prime minister made a public comment after the Pahalgam terror attack. He had vowed to retaliate against the deadly attack, which claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists.
In his speech, Prime Minister Modi declared that India would not remain passive in the face of terrorism taking innocent lives. He firmly stated that the country would eliminate every last stronghold of terrorist control and "break the back of terrorism".
"I want to say this in the clearest words possible; those terrorists who carried out this attack, and those who conspired it, will face a punishment far beyond their imagination. The time has come to wipe out even the last traces of land held by terrorists. The willpower of 140 crore Indians will now break the back of terrorism," PM Modi said.
After the strikes, India reached out to several leading countries, including the US, Russia, the UK and Saudi Arabia, and briefed them about the operation in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir.
Operation Sindoor came days after PM Modi gave the armed forces full freedom to respond to the Pahalgam terror attack.