Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri asks why state funeral if only Pakistani civilians died in India’s Operation Sindoor, says Pakistan can’t be trusted for joint probe on Pahalgam attack

As India continues to hit targets inside Pakistan as part of Operation Sindoor, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held a special briefing on the operation on Thursday evening. Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Colonel Sofia Qureshi joined him in the briefing, just like the first briefing by the Indian government on the operation.

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Colonel Sofia Qureshi said that between 7^th and 8^th May, Pakistani forces tried to attack several sites in India using drones and missiles. She said that Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India, including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, using drones and missiles.

“These were neutralised by the Integrated Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems Grid and Air Defence systems. The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations that prove the Pakistani attacks,” they added.

As already said in a statement issued by the defence ministry, they said that the Indian Armed Forces targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan today morning. “It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralized,” they added.

Responding to Pakistan denying its role in terrorism in India, Vikram Misri said that Pakistan’s reputation as an epicentre of global terrorism is rooted in a number of instances where concrete evidence is available not just to India but to governments, agencies and authorities around the world. He said that Pakistan’s fingerprints have been found in several terror attacks in the world, adding that Osama Bina Laden was found to be living in India.

Misri also responded to Pakistan’s demand for an international probe on Pahalgam terror attack, reminding how Pakistan refused to cooperate in the investigation into Mumbai and Pathankot terror attacks, even after India provided them with evidence. He said that joint investigative team was formed after the Pathankot attack and Pakistani side was given unprecedented access, but there has been no movement from Pakistan.

Therefore, Pakistan can’t be trusted for a joint probe, Misri said, adding that it is a delaying tactic. He also said that Pakistan may use the information gained in such joint probe to cover its tracks and defend the terrorists.

Vikram Misri also denied Pakistani claims that only civilians were killed in the 7^th May Operation Sindoor strikes, saying that only terrorist camps were carefully selected as target. He also referred to Pakistani military and ISI officials attending the funerals of the people who died in the strikes, asking why such state honour will be given for death for funerals.

“As far as we are concerned, the individuals eliminated in these facilities were terrorists, giving terrorists state funerals may be a practice in Pakistan, doesn’t seem to make much sense to us,” he said. He also denied Pakistani claims that India targeted religious sites, saying that the targets were terrorist facilities and locations clearly connected with incidents of cross-border terrorism into India.

Vikram Misri said that it is Pakistan that is misusing religious sites as cover to radicalise, indoctrinate and train terrorists. Contrary to Pakistan’s claim, they launched a targeted attack on the Sikh community by hitting a Gurudwara and several houses of Sikh community in Poonch, he added. He added how Pakistan is artillery shelling is hitting civilians in India, in which 16 people have died and 59 others have been injured.

The foreign secretary added that Pakistan is trying to give a communal angle to India’s response to Pahalgam attack, saying the religious profiling of victims in the Pahalgam attack and Pakistani Army Chief’s provocative comments earlier were actually communal in nature.

Responding the Pakistani claims of responding to Indian strike, Misri said that it is India which is responding to the Pahalgam terror attack. He also denied that India targeted a dam of the Neelum-Jhelum project in PoK, saying that India only targeted terrorist infrastructure. He said that such claims are pretext to target civilian infrastructure in India.

Talking about Indus water treaty, the foreign secretary said that there have been fundamental changes in the circumstances in which the treaty was concluded, and a reassessment of the obligations under the treaty has become necessary. He said that India has been talking with Pakistan over the issue for last 2 years, and Pakistan has been violating the terms of the treaty. India has been carrying out its responsibilities under the treaty despite the provocations of Pakistan, he said.

Misri also said that due to developments in technology, climate change, cross border terrorism and other issues, the Indus water treaty needs to be reviewed.

Hinting that operations are not over, Vikram Misri said that this is an evolving situation, saying he can’t reveal operational details. When asked by a journalist, he refused to disclose further operational details beyond what was said by the defence ministry statement earlier in the day.

When asked for official statement on Pakistan’s baseless claim of shooting down 5 or 6 Indian fighter jets including 3 Rafale jets, Misri said that official response will be issued on time. However, he said that he is not surprised by Pakistani misinformation, as it is known for lies and false propaganda.

News