Escalating tensions

Operation Sindoor result of Pakistan's failure to contain terror, efforts now must be made to end conflict early

- 

INDIA'S RESPONSE TO the dastardly killing of 26 Indian civilians in Pahalgam, Kashmir, on April 22, via Operation Sindoor, was sensitive, restrained, and measured and sent the right message to Pakistan, namely that India will not brook the killing of innocents by terrorists. At the same time, there should be no doubt that military attacks would be met with a firm response. While the retaliatory action was anticipated given the heinous and brutal nature of the killing of tourists, the government did well to take its time to plan out the action. In the early hours of Wednesday, the country's armed forces carried out strikes targeting nine terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan. Neither military facilities or Pakistani civilians nor religious sites were targeted. As the government reiterated on Thursday, it is not India's intention to escalate the situation but to target terrorist infrastructure in a considered, precise, and controlled manner. Defence minister Rajnath Singh underlined India's moral clarity in combat, saying only those who killed "ou