New Delhi:Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that Operation Sindoor was “paused” as the armed forces had achieved the desired politico-military objectives and asserted that there was “no pressure” to end it. Initiating the special discussion on “Operation Sindoor” and the Pahalgam terror attack in the Lok Sabha, Mr Singh said that if Pakistan indulges in any fresh misadventure, it will resume again.Mr Singh said the objective of Operation Sindoor was not to cross the border or to capture the territory, it was to eliminate the terror nurseries which Pakistan had nurtured for years, and to provide justice to the innocent families who lost their loved ones in the cross-border attacks.Speaking later in the debate, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar rejected the Opposition’s claims that India had accepted the ceasefire with Pakistan under US pressure.Mr Rajnath Singh asserted that, during Operation Sindoor, India had not only demonstrated its military capability, but also its national resolve, morality and political acumen. The minister stressed that New Delhi will give a decisive and clear answer to any terrorist attack. “Those who provide shelter and support to terrorism will not be spared. India is not going to bow down to any kind of nuclear blackmail or other pressure,” he said.Describing the Pahalgam terrorist attack as the vilest example of inhumanity, which tested the limits of India’s tolerance, Mr Singh informed the Lower House that, immediately after the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting and the armed forces were given full freedom to take decisive action keeping in mind discretion, strategic understanding and the regional security situation.“On May 6 and 7, 2025, the Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor, which was not just a military action, but an effective and decisive demonstration of the government’s responsibility towards India’s sovereignty, its identity and the people of the country, as well as its policy against terrorism,” he said.Meanwhile, countering the Opposition’s charge that the Indian leadership had accepted the ceasefire with Pakistan due to American pressure, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar told the House that between April 22, when the Pahalgam terror attack took place, and June 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had no conversation with US President Donald Trump. He also rejected all claims that the ceasefire was linked with trade deals with US as claimed by Mr Trump, saying at no stage was such a thing discussed.On the US role, the foreign minister said that on May 9, US vice-president J.D. Vance called the PM to warn him of a “massive attack” from the Pakistan side, to which Mr Modi said India would retaliate accordingly if any such misadventure takes place. “That attack (from Pakistan) took place and our response was delivered with devastating impact,” the EAM said in the Lok Sabha while speaking in the Operation Sindoor discussion. “On May 10 we got a call (from the US) saying Pakistan is ready for a ceasefire. We said if that is so, Pakistan should request us for this through the DGMO channel,” the minister said.The external affairs minister said several countries sent letters of support to India and several leaders called up to understand what was India’s thinking. Mr Jaishankar also said the result of India’s diplomacy after the Pahalgam attack was that only three out of 190 nations opposed Operation Sindoor. “There was an overwhelming support that the country which was attacked has the right to defend itself,” he said.“We gave a common message that India was exercising its right to defend itself. Targets are known. These are terrorist headquarters. No mediation will be accepted. We will not go down to nuclear blackmail,” the EAM said. He added that 23 nations, including Germany, France and Russia, issued strong statements in favour of India and said that they support India’s action in self-defence.Earlier, the defence minister told the Lok Sabha that according to an estimate, over 100 terrorists, their trainers, handlers and associates were killed in well-coordinated strikes by our forces at nine terror infrastructure targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir with precision.Mr Singh added that on May 10, Pakistan used missiles, drones, rockets and other long-range weapons against India, in addition to technologies related to electronic warfare, on a large scale, targeting Indian Air Force bases, Army ammunition depots, airports and military cantonments.He informed the House with pride that India’s air defence system, counter-drone system and electronic equipment had completely foiled the attack, highlighting the effectiveness of the S-400, Akash missile system and air defence guns.“Our security system was foolproof and every attack was foiled. Pakistan was unable to hit any of the Indian targets and none of the important assets were damaged,” the minister said, while saluting the soldiers for their bravery and determination.The defence minister said on the morning of May 10, when the Indian Air Force struck heavy blows on multiple Pakistani airfields, Pakistan conceded defeat and offered to cease hostilities. “The offer was accepted with the caveat that the operation was only paused, and if there was any future misadventure on the part of Pakistan, it would lead to the resumption of the operation. The attacks by the Indian Air Force, the strong retaliation by the Indian Army along the LoC and the fear of naval attacks forced Pakistan to surrender. And this defeat of Pakistan was not simply a failure, but a defeat of its military strength and morale,” he said.Mr Singh said that on May 10, Pakistan’s DGMO had contacted India’s DGMO and appealed for a halt to military operations, and after formal talks on May 12 between the two DGMOs, both sides decided to put a halt to the operations.Rejecting the claims that the operation was stopped under pressure, Mr Singh termed these as “baseless and incorrect”, and said that India halted the action as all its political and military objectives had been fully achieved.Mr Singh reiterated that India has always batted for cordial and cooperative relations with all neighbours, including Pakistan, but its peace efforts had been misunderstood as naive. He said the government had adopted another path to ensure peace through a surgical strike in 2016, the Balakot airstrike in 2019 and Operation Sindoor in 2025, and its stand has been clear that “terrorism and talks cannot go together”.“Talks are carried out between civilised, democratic countries. But a nation which does not have even an iota of democracy in its existence and only has religious fanaticism, terrorism and hatred against India, dialogue cannot take place,” Mr Singh said.Mr Singh stressed that India’s conflict with Pakistan was not a border conflict but one of civilisation versus barbarism. “The leaders of Pakistan know that their soldiers cannot defeat India in the battlefield, so they nurture terrorism while portraying themselves as innocents in front of the whole world. Pakistan used terrorism as a toolkit which is in opposition to the civilised code of conduct that the rest of the world prefers to abide by,” he said.
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