By Kavita Mistry 
Hailing Operation Sindoor, the senior BJP leader said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had acted decisively against the perpetrators and planners of the Pahalgam terror attack.
India launched the operation 7 May as a response to the 22 April attack on tourists by four terrorists, allegedly with links to Pakistan. They killed 26 men, mostly Hindus, after separating them from children and women.
“I was happy as a citizen of Bharat that our brave security forces responded in a language that the terrorists would understand, after they carried out a horrific terrorist act, taking 26 innocent lives in Pahalgam on 22 April by attacking men of one specific religion and widowing our mothers and sisters,” Annamalai told ThePrint.
As part of Operation Sindoor, India claimed to have targeted nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and that the headquarters and training camps of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba were among the targets hit.
‘Ceasefire just a pause in operations’
When asked about the ‘ceasefire’, first announced by US President Donald Trump and not PM Modi, Annamalai emphasised it was just a ‘pause’ in the operations from the end of the central government.
“PM Modi said firmly in his address that we will no longer tolerate nuclear blackmail. If there are any further escalations from the hardliners and non-state actors from Pakistan, the Indian Armed Forces will respond appropriately, on our terms,” he added.
Reacting to questions around ‘mediation’ by Trump, especially by several opposition leaders, the senior leader maintained it was Pakistan that first reached out to India.
The opposition parties, including the Congress, have also been asking the Centre to share details of the bilateral agreement and demanding a special Parliament session to discuss the way forward.
“Since the beginning of Operation Sindoor, the Indian Armed Forces have done press briefings with specific details. The Centre has been transparent in sharing all information on Operation Sindoor, including targets neutralised and sites destroyed in Pakistan,” he said.
In his address to the nation, the PM also outlined the operational details and discussed the probable aftermath and path forward post-Operation Sindoor, Annamalai added.
“More than that—I am not sure—what the Opposition wants? I feel this is another futile attempt to politicise matters that should not be,” he added.
Comparing the 1965 and 1971 wars with Operation Sindoor, Annamalai said: “We live in a different age and time. The 1971 war lasted 13 days. The 1965 war lasted for 17 days. The latest Ukraine-Russia standoff has been ongoing for over three years, or 1,170 days.”
“The Congress party is two-faced. It asks proxies to push for de-escalation in support of Pakistan, but after a ceasefire announcement, draw parallels,” he said. Annamalai was referring to how the Congress invoked ex-PM Indira Gandhi to draw parallels between her leadership during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and the leadership of PM Modi amid the current cross-border tensions.
“PM Modi has been a harbinger of peace, consistently advocating dialogue as a suitable option for negotiations rather than military escalation,” he added.
‘Hunt for terrorists a continuous process’
Asked why the terrorists were not behind bars and why the Centre committed to a ceasefire even as justice was pending, Annamalai defended the Modi-led regime.
He said the hunt for the perpetrators, their handlers, and the mastermind was a ‘continuous’ process, but the government would find them, regardless of where they hide.
“People need to understand that it took the world 10 years to hunt down Osama Bin Laden, who, finally, was located in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan,” Annamalai said. “The perpetrators of the Pahalgam terrorist attack have been identified. But the issue at hand is we are speaking about Pakistan, a terror state that willfully nurtured and harboured vipers in their backyard.”
Annamalai also stressed that India taught Pakistan a lesson, and the neighbouring country would never forget it. According to him, the lesson is that “our country will go to any extent to protect our mothers, brothers, and sisters”.
On reports of Pakistanis celebrating, terming the ‘ceasefire’ as their victory, Annamalai said that he had not seen such celebrations in Pakistan. “Even if they were [celebrating], as you claim, Pakistan might be celebrating the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailing the country out for the 29th time,” he quipped.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)