Pak commits to truce but vows full response to aggression

WITH AN S-400 missile defence system in the backdrop, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a firm message on Tuesday from Adampur Air Base to Pakistan: Not only have you failed to harm any of India's military installations but you will be annihilated if terrorism continues from your soil.

- REUTERS Islamabad/New Delhi, May 13

In his first speech to the armed forces since Operation Sindoor, Modi lauded the military for humbling Pakistan in the four-day engagement that resulted in the destruction of nine terror sites, killing of over 100 terrorists and damage to its eight military installations.

"Aatank ke viruddh Bharat ki Lakshman Rekha ekdam spasht hai. Ab phir koi terror attack hua to Bharat jawab dega, pakka jawab dega. (India's Lakshman Rekha against terrorism is now crystal clear. India will respond and definitely respond if hit by a terror attack)," he said, in an over 27-minute speech which echoed the message of his address to the nation on Monday night.

But the significance of the speech was immense. It was delivered from the Adampur base, merely 100 km from the Pakistan border, which Pakistan claimed to have destroyed along with the S-400 missile defence system. India had rubbished the claims and TV cameras following Modi corroborated that.