In his first address to the nation after Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared on Monday, May 12, that India would hold no talks with Pakistan. If any dialogue were to take place, it would focus solely on the subject of terrorism, he said, adding that “if talks were to happen it would only be on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.”
Stating that terrorism and talks cannot go hand-in-hand, he said, “Water and blood can never flow together.” He also stated that the world saw the “dirty truth of Pakistan” when the high-ranked officers of the Army bid the slain terrorists adieu. “There cannot be a bigger proof of state-sponsored terrorism,” he said.
Lauding the success of Operation Sindoor, Modi said that the military conflict has established a new normal. The operation, he noted, had achieved three key objectives:
1. Any terrorist attack on India will be met with strong retaliation, on our terms and conditions. We will strongly investigate every source where the roots of terror emerge.
2. India will not tolerate any form of nuclear blackmail.
3. We will not distinguish between governments that support terrorism and the terror organisations themselves.
The PM said that over 100 terrorists were killed during Operation Sindoor. Many of them, he claimed, had been roaming freely in Pakistan for the past three decades, conspiring against India. “India eliminated them in a moment,” he said.
Modi accused Pakistan of choosing aggression over cooperation in the fight against terrorism. “Instead of working with India to combat terror, Pakistan launched attacks against us,” he said. “Pakistan targeted our schools, colleges, gurudwaras, temples, and civilian homes. Pakistan targeted our military installations. But the world saw how India’s air defense system successfully destroyed Pakistan’s drones and missiles,” he said.
The PM added that India struck at the very heart of Pakistan. “Pakistan’s airbase was targeted. Within three days, India destroyed their airbases,” he said.
Operation Sindoor was launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 civilians, mostly tourists, were killed. The PM said the barbarity displayed by the terrorists had shaken the nation and the world. “Innocent civilians on vacation were asked their religion and mercilessly killed in front of their families and children. It was a very gruesome face of terror. It was cruel,” he said, calling it an abominable attempt to disrupt the country’s social harmony.
Modi said that in the aftermath of the attack, the entire nation — every citizen, every community, every political party, and every section of society — stood united in demanding action against terrorism. “We gave complete freedom to the Indian military to decimate the terrorists,” he said. “Today, every terrorist and every terror organisation has learned the consequence of wiping the sindoor off the foreheads of our sisters and daughters.”
He stressed that Operation Sindoor was more than just a name. “It represents the emotions of crores of Indians. It is the unbroken promise of justice.”
The PM said the world witnessed the outcome of this promise on the night of May 6 and the morning of May 7, when Indian armed forces launched precise strikes on terrorist camps and training centres deep inside Pakistan. “Those terrorists could not have even dreamed that India would take such a bold step,” he said.
“When Indian missiles and drones hit those terror bases, it wasn’t just their buildings that collapsed—their confidence and courage were shattered too.”
Modi alleged that terror bases like Bahawalpur and Muridke have long served as “global terror universities.” “Every major terror attack in the world, from 9/11 to the London tube bombing to various major terror attacks in India, has had links to these locations,” he said.
“Terrorists wiped away our sisters’ sindoor. In response, India has wiped away their terror headquarters,” he declared.
Modi said that on the afternoon of May 10, after suffering significant losses, Pakistan’s military contacted India’s Director General of Military Operations. “By then, we had already dismantled much of the terror infrastructure inside Pakistan,” he said.
According to the PM, after Pakistan assured that no further terror activities or military attacks would happen from their end, India decided to consider a temporary halt in its operations. He said the ceasefire was just a pause in the retaliatory action against Pakistan.
“We have merely paused our retaliatory actions on terrorist and military targets in Pakistan. In the days ahead, we will closely monitor every move Pakistan makes, and assess the intent behind their actions.” He also said that all three branches of the Indian armed forces — the Army, Navy, and Air Force — along with the Border Security Force, remain on high alert. He did not mention the intervention of the US in the ceasefire.