Operation Sindoor still on, says Rajnath Singh at all-party meet
Rajnath Singh also said at least 100 terrorists were killed when the Indian military targeted nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
Defence minister Rajnath Singh told an all-party meet on Thursday (May 8) that Operation Sindoor is not over yet.
He said: "Operation Sindoor is still on and it would not be prudent to give out more details at this point."
The minister made this announcement at the all-party meet convened in New Delhi. This was the reason why no armed forces officials were present at the all-party meeting as they were busy with the operations, Rajnath Singh had said.
After the meeting, Union minister Kiren Rijiju told the media that Operation Sindoor is ongoing and all political parties have backed it.
"All the leaders in the meeting today congratulated the Army. All political parties are with the government in every decision. They have shown maturity and everyone is on the same page on this matter. The whole country is together now," Rijju added.
According to the defence minister, at least 100 terrorists were killed when the Indian military targeted nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir early on Wednesday (May 7).
He added that India will hit back if Pakistan attacks the country in the wake of India's targeted strike.
Safety at the borders
The leaders also sought the safety of all Indians, especially in the border areas, in the wake of the Pakistani shelling after India's Operation Sindoor, which was meant to avenge the terrorist massacre of civilians in Pahalgam.
"The entire nation is united with the government and the armed forces," Rijiju asserted.
He said the defence minister told the meeting that "we don't do politics just for forming governments but also to build the nation".
Kharge, Owaisi support govt
Meanwhile, leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said: "In the moment of crisis, we are with the government.”
Also read: Operation Sindoor aligns with UNSC call against terrorism, says India
The AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi too complimented the armed forces and the government for conducting Operation Sindoor.
"I also said we should run an international campaign against the TRF and the UN Security Council should designate it as terror organisation,” he said, referring to The Resistance Front, which claimed responsibility for the April 22 killing of over two dozen civilians in Pahalgam.
“We also need to ask the United States to designate TRF as a foreign terrorist organisation in the country," he said.
Leaders of several parties were present at the meeting, which was also attended by home minister Amit Shah and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and external affairs minister S Jaishankar.
Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes early Wednesday on nine terror targets, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad hub at Bahawalpur and the Lashkar-e-Taiba's base Muridke.