PM’s firm message

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on Monday night was a strategic line in the sand. His words — “Terror and talks cannot go together, terror and trade cannot go together, and water and blood cannot flow together” — were aimed not just at Pakistan but also at the international community. India will no longer play by the old rules where diplomacy coexisted with terrorism, or where international pressure blurred accountability. Operation Sindoor, the swift and calibrated response to the barbaric April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, marked a tectonic shift in the country’s security posture. The Indian Army, Navy and Air Force executed a coordinated precision strike across nine terror-linked targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and deep inside Pakistan’s military zones, including Karachi’s Malir cantonment and Lahore’s radar hubs. The downing of a Pakistani Mirage jet was demonstrative of resolve.

India’s restraint in avoiding civilian targets, even while dismantling a fifth of Pakistan’s air infrastructure, speaks volumes. This was not mindless retaliation; it was calibrated justice. And the use of indigenous platforms like Akash air defence systems and counter-drone tech reflects military strength as well as strategic maturity. By calling out Pakistan for holding state funerals for slain terrorists, the Prime Minister made one thing clear: India’s only agenda with Islamabad is the end of terror and the return of PoK. Everything else, including the Indus Waters Treaty, is now on the table. Modi claimed the ceasefire came at Pakistan’s request, not under international pressure, effectively silencing voices claiming third-party mediation (read US President Trump).

The era of surgical caution is over. Operation Sindoor has redrawn the rules of engagement. It is India’s new doctrine. The onus is now on Pakistan to respect the rules.