Rajnath Singh hails 'Operation Sindoor' success, warns Pakistan against testing India's patience

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, speaking during the National Quality Conclave today, congratulated the armed forces for their heroic actions during 'Operation Sindoor' against Pakistan-based terror outfits on May 7. "The way our armed forces destroyed 9 camps in Pakistan and PoK is a matter of pride for our armed forces. The way this operation was carried out with minimum collateral damage without harming any innocent people was possible because our formidable and professionally trained armed forces had high-quality equipment," he said.

He said the Indian Army destroyed 9 camps in Pakistan and POK, which is a matter of pride for the armed forces. "I assure the countrymen that no limit will become a hindrance for us in protecting India's sovereignty. We are fully prepared for such responsible responses in the future as well," he said.

The Union minister said India has always played the role of a responsible nation with great restraint. "We have always been in favour of resolving problems through dialogue. But this does not mean that anyone should take unfair advantage of our patience. If anyone tries to take advantage of our patience, then he will have to be fully prepared to face action just like yesterday," said the minister.

The Indian security forces conducted high-precision air strikes under Operation Sindoor across nine different Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu & Kashmir on Wednesday. These were the specific locations where attacks against India were planned and directed, says the government. The security forces have said their actions have been focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature.

As per the ruling party BJP, Abdul Rauf Azhar, the younger brother of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar and the mastermind of the Indian Airlines IC 814 hijack, has been killed in surgical strikes carried out by the Indian armed forces at one of the locations in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, which was the Jaish headquarters. A social media post from the BJP's handle shows Abdul Rauf Azhar's photo and "eliminated" written on it.

Abdul Rauf Azhar had played a key role in the hijacking of Indian Airlines IC 814 in Kandahar in 1999 and was also one of the key accused in the Pathankot terror attack and the Parliament attack in 2001. The Indian government had to release three terrorists in response to the hijacking of the plane that was flying from Kathmandu to Delhi, and was diverted to Kandahar. JeM chief Masood Azhar was one of those terrorists released in exchange for the release of the passengers.

Several media reports also claimed that at least 10 members of Masood Azhar's family have been killed in air strikes conducted by India. "10 members of my family were blessed with this happiness together tonight... five are innocent children, my elder sister, her honourable husband. My scholar Fazil bhanje (nephew) and his wife and my beloved scholar Fazilah (niece) ... my dear brother Huzaifah and his mother. Two more dear companions," a statement attributed to Masood Azhar said, reported NDTV. It adds that he neither feels "regret" nor "despair" over the deaths. "Rather, it comes to my heart again and again that I too would have joined this fourteen-member happy caravan. Time for their departure had come, but the Lord did not kill them."

The government, meanwhile, has said that despite India's measured, focused and responsible approach, where it didn't target Pakistani military establishments, Pakistan on Wednesday night attempted to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India. "These were neutralised by the Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems. The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations that prove the Pakistani attacks."

In response, Indian Armed Forces targeted air defence radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan. "Indian response has been in the same domain with same intensity as Pakistan. It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised."