9 Pakistan targets chosen using credible intel
Over the two weeks since terrorists brutally killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam on April 22, India meticulously identified nine terror camps operating in Pakistan that were to be hit by dual strikes from land and air.
The decision to carry out precision strikes deep inside Pakistan marked a new benchmark in responding to ghastly attacks such as the Pahalgam massacre, said officials.
India had intelligence about terror camps operating at these sites, camouflaged as health centres to evade detection and circumvent sanctions from international organisations, including the Financial Action Task Force, the officials said.
Military options were discussed threadbare after Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a free hand to the armed forces, leading to Operation Sindoor in wee hours of Wednesday, they said. Army officer Col Sofiya Qureshi, who was part of the government’s media briefing team after the operation, said the strikes were based on credible intelligence inputs and the role played by the terror camps in perpetrating anti-India activities.
“The targets were selected with due diligence to avoid damage to civilian installations and ensure no innocents were killed. The camps had long been monitored by Indian intelligence agencies. These were functioning as operational bases for terrorist movement,” said Colonel Qureshi.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said The Resistance Front, a Lashkar offshoot, had claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack. “The identification of the attackers, based on eyewitness accounts and other information, has also progressed. We had inputs on Pakistani terrorist modules planning further attacks against India. Therefore, the strikes had become a compulsion to deter and pre-empt the threats,” said Misri.
The use of high-accuracy standoff weapons ensured minimal collateral damage and maximum impact on the intended targets. India’s effort was to distinguish between anti-terror operations and full-scale military aggression, said the officials.
India