00:00As you are all aware, on April 22, 2025, Pakistani and Pakistan-trained terrorists
00:06belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out a savage attack on Indian tourists
00:12at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir in India.
00:16They murdered 26 people, including one national of Nepal,
00:21causing the largest number of civilian casualties in a terrorist attack in India
00:25since the 26 November 2008 attacks in Mumbai.
00:30The attack in Pahalgam was marked by extreme barbarity,
00:33with the victims mostly killed with headshots from close range and in front of their families.
00:41Family members were deliberately traumatized through the manner of the killing,
00:46accompanied by the exhortation that they should take back the message.
00:51The attack was clearly driven by the objective of undermining the normalcy returning to Jammu and Kashmir.
00:58In particular, it was designed to impact the mainstay of the economy, tourism,
01:03with a record 23 million tourists visiting the valley last year.
01:08The calculation, presumably, was that harming growth and development in the Union territory
01:13would help keep it backward and create fertile ground for continued cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.
01:20The manner of the attack was also driven by an objective of provoking communal discord,
01:27both in Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the nation.
01:30It is to the credit of the government and the people of India that these designs were foiled.
01:35A group calling itself the Resistance Front has claimed responsibility for the attack.
01:42This group is a front for the UN-proscribed Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
01:48It is notable that India had given inputs about the TRF in the half-yearly report
01:54to the monitoring team of the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee in May and November 2024,
02:02bringing out its role as a cover for Pakistan-based terrorist groups.
02:07Earlier, too, in December 2023, India had informed the monitoring team
02:12about Lashkar and Jaish-e-Muhammad operating through small terror groups such as the TRF.
02:18Pakistan's pressure to remove references to TRF in the April 25 UN Security Council press statement
02:26is notable in this regard.
02:30Investigations into the Pahlgam terror attack have brought out the communication notes of terrorists
02:36in and to Pakistan.
02:38The claims made by the Resistance Front and their reposting by known social media handles
02:45of the Lashkar-e-Taiba speak for themselves.
02:48Identification of the attackers based on eyewitness accounts
02:53as well as other information available to law enforcement agencies has also progressed.
02:59Our intelligence has developed an accurate picture of the planners and backers of this team.
03:06The features of this attack also tie in with Pakistan's long track record
03:11of perpetrating cross-border terror in India, which is well documented and beyond question.
03:17Pakistan also has a well-deserved reputation as a haven for terrorists from around the world
03:22with internationally proscribed terrorists enjoying impunity there.
03:27In addition, Pakistan has been known to willfully mislead the world and international forums
03:33such as the Financial Action Task Force on this issue.
03:36The Sajid Mir case in which this terrorist was declared dead
03:40and then, in response to international pressure, brought back to life, found alive and arrested
03:46is the most glaring example.
03:48The latest attack in Pahlgam has understandably generated deep anger in Jammu and Kashmir
03:55and in other parts of India.
03:57Following the attacks, the government of India naturally responded with a set of initial measures
04:04relating to our engagement with Pakistan.
04:07You are all aware of the decisions that were announced on the 23rd of April.
04:12However, it was deemed essential that the perpetrators and planners of the 22nd April attack
04:19be brought to justice.
04:20Despite a fortnight having passed since the attacks, there has been no demonstrable step
04:27from Pakistan to take action against the terrorist infrastructure on its territory
04:32or on territory under its control.
04:35Instead, all it has indulged in are denials and allegations.
04:40Our intelligence monitoring of Pakistan-based terrorist modules indicated
04:45that further attacks against India were impending.
04:49There was thus a compulsion both to deter and to preempt.
04:55Earlier this morning, as you would be aware, India exercised its right to respond and preempt
05:02as well as deter more such cross-border attacks.
05:06These actions were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible.
05:12They focused on dismantling the terrorist infrastructure
05:15and disabling terrorists likely to be sent across to India.
05:20You would also recall that the Security Council on 25th April 2025
05:25had issued a press statement on the Pahalgam terror attack,
05:29underlining, and I quote,
05:31the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors
05:36of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable
05:40and bring them to justice, unquote.
05:43India's latest actions should be seen in this context.
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