India has “every right to retaliate and defend itself,” former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said on Thursday, slamming Pakistan as “no country gets a pass for supporting terrorist activity.”
In a post on X, Haley said, “Terrorists launched an attack that killed dozens of Indian citizens. India had every right to retaliate and defend itself. Pakistan does not get to play the victim. No country gets a pass for supporting terrorist activity.”
Indian Armed Forces launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ on Wednesday, carrying out precision strikes on nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), days after the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people on April 22.
Earlier in the day, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that the Pahalgam terror attack was an “original escalation” by Pakistan, and India responded in a “controlled, precise, measured, considered, and non-escalatory” manner through strikes on terror infrastructure early on Wednesday.
Addressing a joint press conference on Thursday, Misri said that India’s intention is not to escalate matters but to respond to the escalation. “Pakistan escalated on April 22; we are only responding to the escalation. If further escalation occurs, the response will be in the appropriate domain,” Misri said.
He added that when discussions were taking place about the Pahalgam attack at the UNSC, Pakistan opposed the role of TRF (The Resistance Front). “This is after TRF claimed responsibility for 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; we are only responding to the escalation. No military targets have been hit; only terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan has been targeted,” Misri said.
The Foreign Secretary emphasized that Pakistan’s reputation as the epicenter of global terrorism is rooted in numerous instances. “I don’t need to remind you 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 those proscribed by many countries… You must have seen in the last few days, their Defence Minister and former Foreign Minister accepting their country’s involvement with such terror groups,” he said.
“It’s also odd that funerals of civilians are being carried out with coffins wrapped in their national flag, and state honors are being awarded,” he added.
(ANI)