In this screenshot via PMO website, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation, Monday, May 12. (PMO via PTI Photo)
Operation Sindoor LIVE | Blood and water can't flow together: Modi tells Pakistan
In a televised address to the nation, PM Modi said India has only temporarily halted its counter-terrorism operations against Pakistan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared on Monday (May 12) that India has temporarily halted its counter-terrorism operations against Pakistan but warned that New Delhi is prepared to respond decisively to any threats.
In a televised address to the nation, Modi said, "In the coming days, we will observe Pakistan's behaviour and decide our actions on the basis of that."
The Prime Minister saluted India’s Armed Forces for its bravery. He also said Pakistan's 'nuke blackmail' won't work with India anymore.
'Not the era of terror'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asserted that this is not an era of war but not of terrorism either.
The PM said on Monday that for India to uphold peace, it must be strong, and when necessary, that strength must be exercised.
"This is not an era of war, but it is not an era of terrorism either. Unity is India's greatest strength in the fight against all forms of terrorism. Zero Tolerance against terrorism is the guarantee of a better and safer world," he said.
Modi asserted that Pakistan's military and government have continuously nurtured terrorism, warning that such actions will eventually lead to Pakistan's own downfall.
He declared that if Pakistan seeks survival, it must dismantle its terror infrastructure—there is no other path to peace.
'Terror and talks can't co-exist'
He reaffirmed India's firm stance, stating that terror and talks cannot coexist, terror and trade cannot run parallel, and blood and water cannot flow together.
"Any discussions with Pakistan will focus solely on terrorism and any negotiations with Pakistan will centre around Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)," he said.
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- 12 May 2025 9:58 PM IST
'True statesman' PM Modi demarcated boundary for 'Bharat's enemies' through Op Sindoor: BJP
The BJP on Monday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and said that he presented India’s policy against terrorism before the entire world with great clarity and firmness in his address, demarcating the boundary for "Bharat's enemies" through the example of Operation Sindoor.
The prime minister also made it clear that if there would be be any talks with Pakistan, it will happen only on the issue of terrorism and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the BJP said.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi today demarcated the boundary for Bharat's enemies through the example of OperationSindoor, in which our armed forces razed the very edifice of terrorism in Pakistan's backyard," Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in a post on X.
"Our armed forces have made Pakistan shudder with their might and set a new normal of zero tolerance for terrorism. Modi Ji has reiterated our resolve that Bharat will strike back the very moment our enemies dare to make a mistake," he added.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the prime minister made it clear that if there would be any talks with Pakistan, it would only happen on the issue of terrorism and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
“In his address to the nation today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented India’s policy against terrorism to the entire world with great clarity and firmness,” he said in a post on X.
The prime minister’s address was not only an expression of India’s sentiments but also a presentation of the country’s military, diplomatic and moral strength, Singh said.
“The prime minister also made it clear that if there would ever be dialogue with Pakistan in the future, it will only be on terrorism and PoK,” he added.
Singh said the prime minister in his address also praised the bravery and valor of the Indian armed forces during Operation Sindoor.
“The entire nation is proud of the Indian armed forces. I thank the prime minister for his strong leadership,” he said.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar called Prime Minister Modi’s address to the nation as “inspirational”.
“OperationSindoor: A promise redeemed. Peace through strength; strength through action. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat,” he wrote in a post on X.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Prime Minister Modi in his address stressed that “terrorism and talks can’t go together, terrorism and trade can’t go together. Blood and water shall not flow together”.
“Bharat will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail. Operation Sindoor represents the feelings of the people of Bharat,” she said in a post on X.
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said when world history will be penned, Prime Minister Modi will go down as the only global leader who called out Pakistan's nuclear bluff.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s big message on PoK: ‘If there will be talks between India and Pakistan, it will only be on terrorism and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK)’,” Bhandari said in a post on X.
Another BJP national spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said Prime Minister Modi set the record straight in his address as he spoke like a “true statesman” giving a clear message that India will neither hesitate nor compromise in its fight against terrorism.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has changed the script of India’s anti-terror strategy from dossiers to drones and from lighting candles to blasting terror camps,” he wrote on X.
- 12 May 2025 9:52 PM IST
Congress asks if PM has accepted US mediation on Kashmir, stopped ops against Pakistan for trade
The Congress on Monday demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on US President Donald Trump's claims, made minutes before the prime minister addressed the nation, asking if the operation against Pakistan was stopped due to trade obligations and whether he had accepted American mediation on Kashmir.
The Congress also reiterated its demand for a special session of Parliament to discuss the Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor and the cessation of military action against Pakistan on US mediation, asserting that a collective resolve from Parliament was the need of the hour.
Asserting that India would not tolerate any "nuclear blackmail", Modi on Monday said operations against Pakistan had only been kept in abeyance and the future would depend on the neighbouring country's behaviour.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X, "The prime minister, his drumbeaters, and his apologists should answer." "The prime minister's much-delayed address to the nation was completely upstaged by President Trump's revelations a few minutes earlier. The prime minister was completely silent on them. Has India agreed to US mediation? Has India agreed to a 'neutral site' for a dialogue with Pakistan? Will India now give in on US demands for opening Indian markets in autos, agriculture, and other areas?" Ramesh asked.
Trump on Monday reiterated his claim that his administration stopped a "nuclear conflict" between India and Pakistan, telling the south Asian neighbours that the US would do a "lot of trade" with them if they ended the hostilities.
Ramesh, a former Union minister, said Modi should immediately have a meeting with leaders of all political parties -- something he had studiously avoided in the last 20 days.
"The months ahead will demand both painstaking diplomacy and a collective resolve. One-liners and dialogue-baazi are poor substitutes," he asserted.
"We applaud and salute our armed forces unreservedly. They have done the country proud. We are 100 per cent with them at all times. But the prime minister has still much to answer for," Ramesh said.
Congress media department in-charge Pawan Khera noted Trump's statement came a few minutes before the prime minister's address and called it "very disturbing".
He said no Indian would accept what Trump said and "we expected that the prime minister would clarify and respond".
"We need a clarification from the government of India on whether this operation was stopped due to trade," Khera said, noting that India did not trade with "sindoor" and it was not possible to do trade with "sindoor".
"We want to know on what terms mediation was done. Why did you not respond to what Donald Trump said on Kashmir? There are several questions in the minds of the country and there is a need for a collective resolve. There were two opportunities and two such all-party meetings were held but unfortunately the prime minister did not attend," the Congress leader said.
"We again demand that there should be a special session of Parliament and there should be a collective resolve from all. Only the prime minister can create such a collective resolve. There will obviously be no sensitive issues discussed in that, but political issues will be raised," he added.
There is a need to know what the nation gained and what it lost. This question remains to be answered, Khera asserted.
Asked if the Congress was dissatisfied with the prime minister's address, he said, "We are all satisfied in view of the armed forces action and we salute them but we have to discuss politically with the prime minister and there are several questions to be asked." These questions can be answered only through a collective discussion and a collective resolve would emerge and that collective resolve is the need of the hour, he stressed.
Khera also said there had been several governments in the past and all of them attempted to de-hyphenate India and Pakistan as the two countries could not be equated.
"But, in the last few days, India and Pakistan have been equated and hyphenated by America and this is what we object to," the Congress leader said.
"In the eyes of the entire world, the US has hyphenated India and Pakistan. We have strong objections to that," he added.
- 12 May 2025 9:32 PM IST
PM did not mention Trump, US; for first time a third country interfered in our matter: Sibal
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Monday questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi neither mentioned the US nor President Donald Trump in his address to the nation despite them "interfering" in India's conflict with Pakistan.
Sibal also said the prime minister did not even state how the understanding with Pakistan on halting military hostilities was reached.
Sibal's attack came after Modi's address to the nation in which he sternly warned Pakistan that India will not succumb to nuclear blackmail and sent a clear message to the world -- terror and trade, terror and talks cannot go together.
"Any talks with Pakistan can happen only on terrorism and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir," the prime minister said.
Modi's assertions about not doing trade with Pakistan came minutes after US President Donald Trump said that he told India and Pakistan that his administration will do trade with them only if they end the conflict.
Reacting to the prime minister's remarks, Sibal said, "We all laud the courage of the armed foreces. People of the country salute them for giving a befitting reply to Pakistan. Whenever such terror attack (Pahalgam) takes place, our army will give a befitting reply." "Some questions arise from the prime minister's address. He neither mentioned the US nor President Trump. Everyone knows that we were told that on May 10, 3:30 pm DGMO Pakistan called our DGMO and then at 5:30 pm Trump made a post on social media. He (Trump) claimed that the 'US mediated the ceasefire...and we were talking with India and Pakistan for the last 48 hours'," Sibal said at a press conference here.
The Independent Rajya Sabha MP also referred to Trump's remarks just ahead of the PM's address to attack Modi.
President Trump on Monday claimed that his administration stopped a "nuclear conflict" between India and Pakistan, adding that he told the two countries America will do a "lot of trade" with them if they stop the conflict.
"And we helped a lot, and we helped also with trade. I said, 'Come on, we're going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let's stop it. Let's stop it. If you stop it, we're doing trade. If you don't stop it, we're not going to do any trade'," he claimed.
Referring to Trump's remarks, Sibal said Modi did not speak anything on that also.
"He (Modi) said that we have established a new dimension with Operation Sindoor. Yes, for the first time in India's history, a third country interfered in our matter and told us that they will decide what is to be done...you don't even mention how this understanding was reached (with Pakistan)," Sibal said.
"The second thing was that Modi said if Pakistan does such a thing again, we will give a befitting reply, which means terrorism has not been ended, all terrorists have not been killed and it can happen again. Mr. Prime Minister, I would like to say something, Pulwama happened under whose watch? Pahalgam happened under whose watch? Who will take responsibility for it?" Sibal said.
President Trump did not even mention terrorism in his remarks as if it is not an issue, the former Congress leader said.
