India Strikes Pak’s Disinformation Overdrive With Hard Facts, Spotlights Islamabad Terror Links

New Delhi: India on Thursday carried out a strike against Pakistan's disinformation drive with hard facts and highlighted Islamabad's terror links, as Operation Sindoor by Indian armed forces continues to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack.

During a press conference, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated that the Pahalgam terror attack was the original escalation in India-Pakistan tensions. He emphasised that Pakistan-backed terrorists had killed 26 innocent Indian civilians, and India's armed forces have been responding ever since.

India exposes Pak's terror links, shows photo proof of soldiers attending terrorists funerals 

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) exposed Pakistan’s ties with terrorist groups, showing a photograph of Pakistani soldiers attending the funerals of terrorists draped in Pakistani flag who were killed in India's strikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

“... It's also odd that funerals of civilians are being carried out with coffins wrapped in their national flag, and state honours are being accorded. The individuals eliminated at these facilities were terrorists. Giving state funerals to terrorists may be a practice in Pakistan, but it doesn't seem to make much sense to us... Yesterday, Pakistan launched a targeted attack on the Sikh community of J&K hitting a gurdwara in Poonch and hitting the Sikh community members, who came under attack. Three individuals were killed in the attacks... A total of 16 civilians have been killed in Poonch and several others have been injured,” Vikram Misri said. 

India also accused Islamabad of attempting to give a communal spin to its strikes. Officials reiterated that India's response was non-escalatory, targeting only terrorists, their camps, and infrastructure.

"Pakistan has claimed that India deliberately attacked religious sites. This is completely false again... The targets were only the locations related to cross-border terrorism in India. It is in fact Pakistan that is using religious sites as a cover to in fact radicalise, direct, indoctrinate and train terrorists. Contrary to what it is claiming, yesterday Pakistan launched a targeted attack on the Sikh community in Poonch of J&K...,” MEA said.

“Pakistan's reputation as the epicentre of global terrorism is rooted in a number of instances... I don't need to remind where Osama Bin Laden was found and who called him a martyr... Pakistan is also home to a large number of UN proscribed terrorists and also to terrorists proscribed by many countries... You must have seen in the last few days, their Defence minister and former foreign minister accepted their country's involvement with such terror groups,” Misri said.

India also highlighted how Pakistan tried to remove the mention of The Resistance Front, terror group which claimed the responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack. Vikram Misri in his presser said, “When talks were going on about the Pahalgam at the UNSC, Pakistan opposed the role of TRF (The Resistance Front). This is after TRF claimed the responsibility of the attack not once, but twice... Colonel Qureshi and Wing Commander Singh clearly said yesterday as well as today, that India's response is non-escalatory, precise, and measured. Our intention is not to escalate matters and we are only responding to the escalation. No military targets have been targeted; only terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan has been hit.”

Countering Pakistan’s attempt to frame the conflict in communal terms, India highlighted Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir’s hate speech against Hindus, in which he also referred to Kashmir as Pakistan’s jugular vein, just days before the Pahalgam terror attack.

When asked whether NSA Ajit Doval had any communication with Pakistani counterpart, Vikram Misri said, “I have no information with regard to contacts between the two National Security Advisors...”

India warns Pak on any further deescalation 

Vikram Now warned Pakistan that it will be responsible for any further escalation. “If there is an attempt at further escalation by Pakistan, it will be responded to in an appropriate domain and therefore the choices entirely that of Pakistan to make,” he added.

India on Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif's claim they downed Indian fighter jets

Responding when asked on Pakistan's claim that they downed Indian fighter jets, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, “...There is nothing surprising in it. After all, this is a country that started lying as soon as it was born. In 1947, when the Pakistani army claimed Jammu and Kashmir, they lied not to any random person but to the United Nations that we have nothing to do with it... So this journey started 75 years ago...”

MEA also rejected Pakistan's claim that India attacked Neelum-Jhelum dam in Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir saying, “Pakistan also alleges that we have targeted the Neelum-Jhelum dam in Pojk, it is absolutely fabricated and a blatant lie. India has only targeted terrorist infrastructure... If this kind of a claim is a pretext of targeting Indian infrastructure of similar nature, then Pakistan will be solely responsible for the consequences that will undoubtedly follow.”