KATHMANDU, MAY 9
While asserting its right to react proportionately to any Pakistani attack, India today asserted that it would not escalate its ongoing strife with Islamabad.
Addressing a new conference here today, Ambassador of India to Nepal Naveen Srivastava said that India launched 'Operation Sindoor' against terrorists and their backers - who killed 26 innocent civilians, including one Nepali national, in Pahalgam of India's Kashmir on April 26. He said the action was aimed to prevent such attacks in the future and to give terrorists a message that such barbaric killings would not go unchecked.
He said Indian authorities had received intelligence that terrorists were planning to launch more Pahalgam-like attacks in India.
He said India's 'Operation Sindoor' was aimed at terrorist infrastructure and since India did not want to escalate the situation, the Indian security forces had carried out measured and limited action against terror without entering Pakistan airspace and without targeting Pakistani military installations and civilians.
Stating that Pakistan launched 300 to 400 drones yesterday, Ambassador Srivastava said that India would not escalate the situation, but if Pakistan attacked Indian civilians and military installations, India would respond in proportionate manner. "The ball now is in Pakistan's court," he added.
"Our intention is not to escalate the situation. It is up to Pakistan to decide. Should it take action, we will also take action proportionately," the ambassador said.
He said Pakistan had been targeting Indian military installations and civilians. He said Pakistan had been engaged in misinformation and disinformation campaign and people should not be swayed by such campaigns.
Ambassador Srivastava said he was thankful to the government of Nepal for expressing solidarity with the Indian government's fight against terrorism.
"In my conversation with Nepali authorities, we have said that terrorism is not to be seen only as India-Pakistan problem. It is a larger regional problem and the root of it lies in several decades of Pakistan's support to terrorism and unless that is changed or stopped, terrorism will continue to haunt us (India, Nepal)," he added.
He said Pakistan's support to terrorism was proven on a number of occasions as Osama Bin Laden was found and killed in Abbottabad of Pakistan (by the US security forces) and US journalist Daniel Pearl was killed by terrorists in Pakistan.
On Pakistan's assertion of independent investigation into the incident, the ambassador said that they had history of doing joint investigation in the past, including in the aftermath of Mumbai attack in 2008 telling Pakistani authorities about what one of the attackers - Ajmal Kasab - had said in his testimony 'but Pakistan never took action against terrorism'.
He said in the aftermath of 2016 (Uri terror attack), the Indian government invited Pakistani authorities and shared information that they had, but Pakistani government did nothing except covering their acts.
"So, this obfuscation of Pakistan continues," the ambassador said, adding that the Pakistan's call for independent investigation was aimed at diverting attention from the real cause.
"The real issue is terrorism emanating from Pakistan, terrorism as a state policy has been used by Pakistan," he added.
The ambassador said that India's effort now was to try and see that Pakistan can be forced to give up its practice of using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.
The Indian ambassador said that enhanced security at check-posts and airports would not affect supply chains, including supply of petroleum products.
