PAHALGAM terror attack victim Lt Vinay Narwal’s father, Rajesh Narwal, on Wednesday hailed India’s response and said the Modi Government has sent a strong message and now the perpetrators of the April 22 attack “will think 100 times” before repeating such attacks in the future. Retaliating against the terror attack, Indian armed forces on early Wednesday carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba’s base in Muridke. “When this (Pahalgam) incident happened, even then you (media) came to my home and asked what I expected from the Government. My answer was that I had faith in our Government. And today, the Government has justified that trust,” Rajesh Narwal told reporters at his residence in Karnal.

 

“I had said that such a thing (retaliatory strikes) has to be done so that no one dares to do such a cowardly act again...The strikes carried out on the terror targets (in Pak and PoK) will resonate in their minds forever. Responding to a question on the mission’s name, Rajesh said, “This operation has been aptly named Operation Sindoor.” Earlier, when Vinay Narwal’s mother, Asha, was asked to comment about India’s response to the Pahalgam incident, she told reporters, “It is a very good thing that (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi has avenged the (Pahalgam) attack. I am with them (the Government), people are with them, and our entire family is with them”. “I want to tell our Army to give a befitting reply so that such incidents (like Pahalgam) do not occur again,” she said and added that those who got martyred have got justice. Married about three weeks ago, Narwal (26), accompanied by his wife Himanshi, was on a honeymoon in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam town when terrorists shot him at point blank, an incident in which 25 others, mostly tourists, were also killed. 

 

 

ARATHY, daughter of N Ramachandran who was gunned down by terrorists in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, on Wednesday welcomed Indian Army’s “Operation Sindoor” and expressed hope that it would bring some relief to the families of those killed in front of them. The “Operation Sindoor” seems to be a reply from the women of India through the army and the Government, she said. She also extended a “big salute” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian Army and the Union Government for the missile strikes against terror camps in Pakistan and Pak-occupied Kashmir. Arathy’s father was killed by terrorists in front of her while holidaying in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22. This news is a kind of relief from the Government, and the army who have done this, she said. “When the news came out in the morning, it was a kind of relief...And a comforting situation for all of us in the family,” she said. Arathy said there won’t be any other suitable title for the strikes other than “Operation Sindoor”. “Obviously, it is the apt name, but I don’t think wiping the tears will happen. The loss, which had been inflicted, it won’t be compensated. The title, ‘Operation Sindoor’, seems to be like a reply from the women of India through the army and the Government,” she said. Expressing happiness that India targeted and chose terror camps for attack, Arathy said, “It shows what India is.” “The message to Pakistan is clear... Think twice before act. This is the reply India will be giving,” she added. While talking to reporters earlier, she said there could have been no befitting reply other than this to the terrorism which had killed our fathers, brothers or husbands in front of us. “So, a big salute for those who have done this operation. A big thank you to the Government, the Prime Minister and the army people who have been working for this operation...Who have been behind it continuously,” she said. Arathy also said she and her family are praying for the Army. “Let all Indians see a comfort in this operation. Let Operation Sindoor bring some comfort and relief to all the families of victims, including Himanshi (Narwal),” she added. Himanshi’s husband was one of those killed in the terror attack, and a picture of her sitting beside his lifeless body with a crestfallen face turned out to be the defining image of the deadly incident. In retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack, Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes early Wednesday on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba’s base Muridke. The military strikes were carried out under ‘Operation Sindoor’ two weeks after the massacre of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.