Modi attacks Pakistan, says it refuses to learn, seeks relevance via terrorism
Relations between India and Pakistan have been at an all-time low as the two sides have not had any formal talks since the 2008 Mumbai attacks ended the composite dialogue
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hit out at Pakistan, saying it has faced defeat after all its immoral and shameful acts but Islamabad refuses to learn from history and tries to maintain its relevance through terrorism and proxy wars. Speaking after visiting the war memorial at Dras to pay tribute to the men who laid their lives fighting Pakistani intruders in Kargil in 1999, Modi said he was speaking from the place where the masters of terrorism could hear him clearly.
“I want to tell these patrons of terrorism that their sinister plans will never succeed. Whatever evil attempts Pakistan has made in the past, it has had to face failure. But Pakistan has not learnt anything from its history. It is trying to keep relevant with the help of terrorism and proxy war. ...I want to tell these patrons of terrorism that their evil intentions will never succeed,” he said as the Indian Army kicked off the 25th Kargil Vijay Diwas (victory day) celebrations from a mountaintop near the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto India-Pakistan border in the region.
Modi said India’s brave soldiers will crush terrorism with full force and the enemy will be given a befitting reply. “Be it Ladakh or Jammu and Kashmir, India will overcome every challenge coming in the way of development.”
Relations between India and Pakistan have been at an all-time low as the two sides have not had any formal talks since the 2008 Mumbai attacks ended the composite dialogue. Terror attacks have derailed the attempts to resume contact.
India and Pakistan were on the verge of another war following the 2019 Pulwama attack, which prompted India to carry out airstrikes deep inside Pakistani territory. Pakistan retaliated a day later. A ceasefire along the LoC was resumed in February 2021 after back-channel contacts mostly involving intelligence and security officials in third countries.
Modi’s comments on Friday came against the backdrop of a spike in terror activity mostly south of the Pir Panjal mountains, which divide Jammu and the Kashmir Valley. On Wednesday, a terrorist was killed and non commissioned officer (NCO) injured in an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists in the Kupwara district of Kashmir after the Army launched a joint search operation regarding the presence of terrorists in Trimukha Top forest that they use it to sneak from one district to another after infiltrating from across LoC.
The gunfight broke out days after the Army foiled an infiltration bid in Kupwara’s Keran sector and killed two terrorists. On July 14, three terrorists were killed as security forces foiled another infiltration bid in Keran.
The region has been on alert amid an increase in terror attacks. The Army has been using drones, quadcopters, and human intelligence to track the movement of terrorists and thwart infiltrations. Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi last week reviewed the security scenario at a joint meeting with police, paramilitary forces, and intelligence agencies in Jammu on Saturday amid a series of attacks in the region.
This year, at least 28 people, including 12 security personnel, a village defence guard, and five terrorists, have been killed in nearly a dozen attacks in six districts of Jammu. Four army personnel, including an officer, died in a gunfight with terrorists in the Doda district last week. Five soldiers were killed and five wounded in a terrorist ambush a week earlier in Kathua.
The Army has sent more troops to the region, reoriented its units, and strengthened the intelligence network for counterterror operations. Security forces recalibrated their responses as Jammu, Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi districts became clear targets for Pakistan-based terror groups.
