Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who spoke to US President Donald Trump following the terrorist attack which shook Kashmir’s Pahalgam, told him that he was determined to punish those behind the terrorist outrage, foreshadowing retaliatory actions that have become the hallmark of his response to terrorism.
There was no immediate word on how the Prime Minister planned to respond. President Trump called PM Modi to extend support from Washington and condolences over the terrorist strike that killed dozens of tourists.
A White House readout of the call is awaited, but the administration has been sharp and unambiguous in condemning the attack and extending support to the Narendra Modi government and the people of India in the wake of this “brutal” attack, as Karoline Levitt, the White House spokesperson, said at her daily briefing in a suo motu statement.
“President Donald Trump @realDonaldTrump @POTUS called PM @narendramodi and conveyed his deepest condolences at the loss of innocent lives in the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. President Trump strongly condemned the terror attack and expressed full support to India to bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous attack. India and the United States stand together in the fight against terror,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.
An Indian government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told IANS that PM Modi told the American president, “India is determined to bring the perpetrators and backers of this cowardly and heinous terrorist attack to justice.”
The official did not disclose names, but it was clear the Prime Minister was not looking to punish only those who carried out the attack, but also their backers. Terrorists struck a prime tourist location of Pahalgam in south Kashmir on Tuesday, killing at least 28 people and injuring several others, according to officials. The 28 dead included two foreigners – from the UAE and Nepal – and two locals, officials said.
Modi cut short his trip to Saudi Arabia to return, while Home Minister Amit Shah rushed to Jammu and Kashmir to spearhead the security measures following the most gruesome attack targeting tourists in the valley in a long time.
The Modi government launched “surgical strikes” in response to the 2016 terrorist attack in Uri that took the lives of 17 Indian soldiers. In 2019, Indian Air Force fighter jets struck a terrorist camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan, in retaliation for a terrorist attack on a convoy of Central Reserve Police Force personnel, killing 48 men in the service.
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