In next fight, Navy to fire first salvo, Rajnath warns Pakistan

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday lauded the role played by the Navy during Operation Sindoor saying its warships and fighter jets kept the Pakistan forces “bottled up”. He warned the western neighbour that the next clash could see the Navy fire the opening salvo.

The minister said this during his visit to aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, which had been deployed with its fighter jets during Operation Sindoor from May 7 to 10. “The Navy succeeded in keeping the Pakistani armed forces tied down…. This time, however, Pakistan did not have to face the firepower of the Indian Navy. But the world now knows if the neighbour again commits any nefarious act, it is possible that the Navy will be the first to launch the counter-response,” he said while addressing the naval personnel.

INS Vikrant, a 45,000-tonne carrier with its battle group comprising submarines and other warships, maintained a secure “air-defence bubble” for some 300 km, preventing any attack Pakistan could have launched from its coast off Karachi. Rajnath advised Pakistan to understand that its dangerous game of terrorism had ended. “Now whenever Pakistan instigates any terrorist act against India, it will not only have to bear the consequences but, like always, have to face defeat,” he said.

The minister said India would not hesitate to use methods Pakistan had never thought of. “As anti-India activities are being carried out from Pakistani soil, India is free to carry out every kind of operation against terrorists,” he said.

On the US claims of having stopped the two sides from heading to a full-fledged war, Rajnath said, “No power in the world can stop India’s actions against terrorism.” He advised Pakistan to demolish its terror infrastructure and hand over to India terrorists such as Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar. He said Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was repeatedly proposing talks, but India had made it clear that terror and dialogue couldn’t go together.