New Delhi: India will identify, trace and punish every terrorist and their backers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday in a stern warning to Pakistan, two days after 26 people were killed in a terror attack in Pahalgam.
Addressing a rally at Madhubani in poll-bound Bihar, he said the terrorists and those “who were part of the conspiracy” will be “punished beyond imagination”.
In a message to the world about India’s intent, the PM spoke in English, saying: “Today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world, India will identify, trace, and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth.”
At least 26 people, most of them tourists, were killed and several others injured in what was one of the deadliest terror attacks in the Kashmir Valley. The Centre has called for an all-party meeting Thursday.
Emphasising that India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism, the PM said terrorism will not go unpunished. “Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done,” the PM said as the crowd chanted Modi, Modi in Madhubani.
Modi said that “the entire nation is firm in this resolve” and went on to thank the countries and leaders who he said have stood with India during this time. “Everyone who believes in humanity is with us.”
The Prime Minister also laid stress on the unity of the nation, saying: “The entire nation is one in this resolve. Everyone who believes in humanity is with us.”
“Today, on their death (Pahalgam victims), our grief is the same from Kargil to Kanyakumari. Our anger is the same. This attack did not happen only on unarmed tourists. The enemies of the country have dared to attack the soul of India,” he added.
“Friends, the entire nation is saddened by the brutality with which terrorists killed innocent citizens in Pahalgam. The country is in pain. The whole country stands with all the suffering families in their grief. The government is also making every effort to ensure that the families who are currently undergoing treatment get well soon. Friends, in this terrorist attack, someone has lost his son, someone has lost his brother, someone has lost his life partner,” the PM said, emphasising that the country stands with all the suffering families.
“Some of them spoke Bengali, some spoke Kannada, some were Marathi, some were Odiya, some were Gujarati, some were from Bihar,” he said, talking about the victims.
Reiterating his government’s intentions, the PM added: “I want to say in very clear words that those terrorists who carried out this attack and those who plotted this conspiracy will get a punishment which these terrorists would never have imagined. They will definitely get the punishment.”
He added: “Now the time has come to destroy whatever little ground the terrorists have left. The will power of 140 crore Indians will now break the back of the terrorist masters.”
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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