Hours after India conducted a series of strikes on terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), dubbed Operation Sindoor, the government said that the hits had destroyed the camp where terrorists Ajmal Kasab and David Headley had trained.
The government further said that the strikes were measured and non-escalatory in nature and was aimed at dismantling the terror infrastructure. “Operation Sindoor was launched to deliver justice to the victims of Pahalgam,” they added.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh were briefing the media in New on Wednesday.
in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, targeting terrorist infrastructure there, two weeks after the Pahalgam attack that had killed 26 people.
A defence ministry statement said on Wednesday, “A little while ago, the Indian armed forces launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.”
“Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution,” it added.
Of the nine sites India said it struck in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in a wave of attacks, four locations stand out for their ties to militant activity, according to Indian officials.
In Pakistan’s Punjab province, Bahawalpur and Muridke were among the targets. Bahawalpur, located near the border with India’s Rajasthan state, has been identified by authorities as a stronghold of Jaish-e-Mohammed, the militant group led by . Azhar was among three men released by India in 1999 during a hostage exchange after an Indian Airlines flight was hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Bahawalpur is also the city where Azhar was born.
Muridke, a town near Lahore, is known as the base of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group blamed for the 2008 attacks that killed more than 170 people. The town is home to the Markaz-e-Taiba complex, which Indian and international security agencies have described as Lashkar’s headquarters.
In Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the strikes hit sites in Kotli and Muzaffarabad, both of which have been linked by Indian security officials to militant operations. Kotli lies just across the Line of Control from Jammu and is adjacent to India’s Poonch and Rajouri districts, areas that have frequently seen cross-border infiltration attempts.
Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK, has long been identified by Indian authorities as a hub for multiple armed groups operating along the border. Located east of Baramulla and Kupwara in Indian-administered Kashmir, Muzaffarabad is believed to serve as a staging ground for militants crossing into India, often with the assistance of the Pakistani military, according to Indian officials.
