100 terrorists killed; govt says ops ongoing

New Delhi The government is still assessing the damages inflicted on Pakistan by Operation Sindoor but at least 100 terrorists were killed in the ongoing operation, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh told an all-party meeting on Thursday, according to people aware of details.

Singh’s comments mark the first estimation of the casualties from the precision strikes on terrorist infrastructure at nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir carried out by India on Wednesday, in response for the Pahalgam terror attack two weeks ago.

The meeting saw opposition parties backing the government in the military action and hailing the armed forces, as leaders across the political spectrum projected a united front amid rising tensions between the two countries.

The 26-minute action codenamed Operation Sindoor was carried out between 1.04am and 1.30am on Wednesday. The strikes conducted with a mix of missiles and smart munitions fired by aircraft and ground forces targeted bases of UN-proscribed terror groups such as Lashkar-eTaiba (LeT) andJaish-e-Mohammed(JeM) located across the international border and the Line of Control (LoC).

Singh, who chaired the all-party meeting of parliamentary leaders at Parliament complex, added that Operation Sindoor was an “ongoing operation” and India didn’t want to escalate matters. According to a person privy to the meeting, Singh told the leaders, “Our intended purpose has been met, we are not interested in escalating matters but if Pakistan does something, we will not back down but the armed forces will retaliate...”

Opposition parties unanimously reiterated their support for the government underlining national unity at the moment of crisis.

This was the second all-party meeting after the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. In the first meeting on April 24, Singh had assured the political parties that the government was committed to taking strong action.

“He (Singh) told the leaders about the operation and what the government’s intent is. Other leaders also spoke and gave their suggestions and showed maturity. At a time when the country is facing a serious challenge, there is no scope for politics….” Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said after the meeting.

The minister went on to say, “The Raksha Mantri said today’s meeting shows we don’t do politics only for forming government but for building the nation.”

Some Opposition parties sought details, but Singh pointed out that it was an ongoing operation.

“There were some queries from the opposition, but the Raksha Mantri said since this was an ongoing operation, there cannot be a separate briefing on every incident. This meeting was to evolve a broad political consensus. All the leaders have shown maturity at a time when the nation was faced with big challenges,” Rijiju said.

A lawmaker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “There was no insinuation from any leader...however some cited foreign media reports about the status of Indian jets involved in the operation and said if an attempt is being made to create a false narrative then the Indian government should shut down such efforts.”

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi told mediapersons after the meeting, “...We have given full support to the government in the meeting.” He also reiterated his demand for a special session of Parliament.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, who raised the issue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi not being present for the all-party meeting, added, “In the meeting, the defence minister said that questions related to defence secrets should not be asked at this time, we do not want to make them public at this time. All of us parties also took this seriously in the interest of the country and did not ask any question on this subject.”

Some Opposition leaders raised the issue of Indians living near the border and the LoC, making specific reference to the loss of lives in Poonch, and said the government should provide security to these families, a person privy to the details said. They also demanded that the government take care of the kin of those who lost their lives in Kashmir, the person said.

“Some lawmakers asked the government if adequate care is being taken to ensure there is no threat to people in big cities and infrastructure such as airports are heavily guarded. There was at least one member who raised the issue of possible sleeper cells existing (of terror outfits) in big cities,” said the lawmaker quoted above.

All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi said after the meeting, “I have complimented our armed forces and the government for Operation Sindoor. I also suggested that we should run a global campaign against the Resistance Front (TRF). I also suggested that the government should request the USA to designate it (TRF) as a terrorist organisation. We should also make efforts to grey-list Pakistan in FATF.”

Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay suggested that PM Modi should hold a meeting with all party chiefs.

Biju Janata Dal MP Samit Patra said, “The Biju Janata Dal wholeheartedly commends the extraordinary courage, clinical precision, and gallant professionalism of our armed forces in carrying out Operation Sindoor. We salute every soldier, every officer, and every unit involved in this mission.”

The meeting was attended by Union home minister Amit Shah, external affairs minister S Jaishankar, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Leaders of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party chief and Union health minister JP Nadda.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader T R Baalu, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule , Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader John Brittas (CPI-M), AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, JD(U) working president Sanjay Jha, Shiv Sena chief Shrikant Shinde, Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel, Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan, and BJD leader Sasmit Patra were also present at the meeting.