India-Pak conflict LIVE | Pakistan: Will respond to any 'aggression' from India
Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said Pakistan is a responsible state and remains committed to the ceasefire and taking necessary steps towards de-escalation and regional stability
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday (May 16) said Operation Sindoor was a reflection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's firm determination, pin-pointed intelligence gathering by various agencies and infallible fire power of Indian armed forces. He said this after inaugurating a new multi-agency centre in Delhi for intelligence sharing among various agencies.
Shah said Operation Sindoor reflected Modi's firm determination, the pinpointed intelligence gathering by various agencies, and the infallible firepower of our Armed Forces.
The multi-agency centre, under the Intelligence Bureau, was created in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks with an aim to share timely inputs among various stakeholders involved in law enforcement.
What Rajnath Singh said
As India and Pakistan inch closer to achieving normalcy at the borders following an aggressive military clash in the wake of India's Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the killing of 26 people by terrorists in Pahalgam, the prime minister of the latter country has said that he is ready to engage in dialogue with New Delhi for the sake of "peace."
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made the statement during his visit to the Kamra air base in the country's Punjab province on Thursday (May 15), where he interacted with officers and soldiers involved in the recent military confrontation with India.
On Wednesday, Sharif visited Pasrur Cantonment in Sialkot where he interacted with the soldiers and officers present.
Conditions for peace
"We are ready to talk with it (India) for peace,” he said. He, however, stressed that the "conditions for peace" include discussions on the Kashmir issue.
Sharif was accompanied to the airbase by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Army Chief General Asim Munir, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu.
This was the Sharif's second visit to a defence facility following the understanding reached between India and Pakistan on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
Operation Sindoor
India has maintained since Independence that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh "are and always will be integral and inalienable parts of India".
In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 where 26 people were brutally murdered, India launched a retaliatory mission, 'Operation Sindoor' on May 6 and 7 (Tuesday and Wednesday), wiping out several terror camps and infrastructure with precision strikes.
Indian armed forces targeted terror sites specific to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) among others in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing over 100 terrorists.
Counterattack
Pakistan then attempted to attack several Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10.
The Indian armed forces launched a fierce counter-attack on several Pakistani military installations, including Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian. Several indigenous technologies and defence systems were used to ensure minimal damage from the Pakistani attack.
Follow this space for more live updates
