Phase 2 or 3 of Operation Sindoor possible? Rajnath Singh says it depends on Pakistan's conduct

On Sunday (September 21), Defence Minister Rajnath Singh highlighted the country’s stance against terrorism and also spoke about the cross-border firing between India and Pakistan while interacting with members of the Indian community in Morocco. He was stern in saying that any advancement from the neighbouring country will be met with a fitting response. He hinted at more phases of Operation Sindoor, if needed. This was launched by the armed forces on the intervening night of May 7 and 8. It was India’s reply to the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 innocent lives on April 22.

The defence minister said, "Whether part 2 remains to be done or part 3, we can't say. It depends on their (Pakistan's) conduct. If they indulge in terrorist activities, they will get a reply.”

Talking about Operation Sindoor, he said, “The first question I asked in the meeting with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the three service chiefs and Defence Secretary the next day, on April 23, was if they are ready for an Operation if the government decided upon one. You would be delighted to know they didn't take even a second and responded that they are absolutely ready. We then approached PM Modi, he told us to go ahead and gave a free hand.”

A fortnight after the attack in Kashmir, India found it extremely important to retaliate after seeing Pakistan’s inaction. The country did not take the perpetrators of the heinous act to task. And so, New Delhi decided to launch the operation against terrorist outfits operating on its soil. While Pakistan said that India attacked its civilian population recently, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander Masood Ilyas was seen addressing a crowd and saying that Masood Azhar, the JeM chief's family was ‘torn into pieces’ in Bahawalpur.