New Delhi: The April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, was described as the “original escalation” by India’s Foreign Secretary, Vikram Misri, on Thursday. He elaborated on India’s ‘Operation Sindoor,’ which saw the Indian armed forces launch precision strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation for the attack.
“The first thing that must be kept in mind is that the attack of April 22 in Pahalgam was the original escalation. The action taken by the Indian armed forces against terror camps in Pakistan and PoK was a direct response to that escalation,” Misri said during a briefing.
The foreign secretary also addressed the role of The Resistance Front (TRF), the terror group responsible for the Pahalgam attack, which is linked to the globally banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He highlighted that India had previously reported the group to the United Nations 1267 sanctions monitoring committee and plans to update the UN on the information provided.
“India’s response to the escalation has been non-escalatory, precise, controlled, accurate, measured, and considered,” Misri stated. He stressed that no military targets were chosen during the strikes—only terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK had been hit.
Regarding Pakistan’s attempts to frame the situation as a retaliatory act, Misri made it clear that any further strikes from Pakistan would be seen as escalation rather than retaliation.
Misri also addressed the ongoing disinformation campaign coming from Pakistan. He emphasized that Pakistan has long attempted to distance itself from its involvement in terrorism. Referring to claims by Pakistan’s information minister that there are no terrorists in the country, Misri firmly countered: “Pakistan’s reputation as the epicenter of global terrorism is rooted in concrete evidence available not just to India, but to governments and agencies worldwide.”
He further added that numerous global terror incidents had been linked to Pakistan. “I don’t need to emphasize where Osama bin Laden was found, and who called him a martyr,” Misri said, referring to Pakistan’s long-standing links with terrorist elements.
Misri also highlighted instances where Pakistan misled the international community, citing the case of terrorist Sajid Mir, who was falsely reported dead by Pakistan. “Under global pressure, Pakistan eventually admitted Sajid Mir was alive and took him into custody,” Misri noted.
The foreign secretary pointed out that Pakistan remains home to a large number of UN-proscribed terrorists, as well as terrorists designated by other nations, including figures from Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and their leaders, Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed.
