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Modi warns Pakistan of more strikes if there is a ‘terrorist attack'

Modi warns Pakistan of more strikes if there is a ‘terrorist attack'

A live telecast of Prime Minister Modi's Narendra comments on last week's cross-border strikes draws viewers in Mumbai. (AP pic)
NEW DELHI : Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan on Monday that New Delhi would target 'terrorist hideouts' across the border again if there were new attacks on India and would not be deterred by what he called Islamabad's 'nuclear blackmail'.
Modi's first public comments since Indian armed forces launched strikes on what New Delhi said were 'terrorist camps' across the border last week indicated a hardening of India's position on ties with its neighbour, which were icy even before the latest fighting.
Pakistan denies Indian accusations that it supports militants who attack it and says the locations hit by India last week were civilian sites.
Modi was speaking two days after the nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a ceasefire, announced by US President Donald Trump.
The truce was reached after four days of intense exchanges of fire as the old enemies targeted each other's military installations with missiles and drones, killing dozens of civilians.
The military confrontation began on Wednesday, when India said it launched strikes on nine 'terrorist infrastructure' sites in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir following an attack on Hindu tourists by Islamist militants in Indian Kashmir last month that killed 26 men.
Islamabad denied any links to the attack and called for a neutral investigation.
'If there is a terrorist attack on India, a fitting reply will be given… on our terms,' Modi said, speaking in Hindi in a televised address. 'In the coming days, we will measure every step of Pakistan… what kind of attitude Pakistan will adopt.'
'India will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail,' he said, and listed New Delhi's conditions for holding talks with Islamabad and lifting curbs imposed after the Kashmir attack.
'India's position is clear: terror and talks cannot go together; terror and trade cannot go together. And water and blood cannot flow together,' he said, referring to a water sharing pact between the two countries New Delhi suspended.
There was no immediate response to his comments from Islamabad.
Military talks
Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan both rule part of the Himalayan region of Kashmir, but claim it in full. They have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over the region and there have been several other more limited flare-ups, including in 2016 and 2019.
The latest military conflict between the South Asian neighbours spiralled alarmingly on Saturday and there were briefly fears that nuclear arsenals might come into play as Pakistan's military said a top body overseeing its nuclear weapons would meet.
But the Pakistani defence minister said no such meeting was scheduled.
Military analysts said this may have been Pakistan's way of hinting at its nuclear option as Islamabad has a 'first-use' policy if its existence is under threat in a conflict.
Modi's address came hours after the military operations chiefs of India and Pakistan spoke by phone, two days after they agreed to the ceasefire.
'Issues related to continuing the commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive and inimical action against each other were discussed,' the Indian army said.
'It was also agreed that both sides consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction from the borders and forward areas,' it added.
There was no immediate Pakistani readout of the military operations chiefs' talks.
In Washington, Trump said the leaders of India and Pakistan were 'unwavering', and the US 'helped a lot' to secure the ceasefire, adding that trade was a 'big reason' why the countries stopped fighting.
'We are going to do a lot of trade with Pakistan… and India. We are negotiating with India right now. We are soon going to negotiate with Pakistan,' he said, just ahead of Modi's speech.
Pakistan has thanked the US for brokering the ceasefire while India, which opposes third-party involvement in its disputes with Pakistan, has not commented on Washington's role.
Markets soar
Pakistan's international bonds rallied sharply on Monday, adding as much as 5.7 cents in the dollar, Tradeweb data showed.
Late on Friday, the International Monetary Fund approved a fresh US$1.4-billion loan and also the first review of its US$7-billion programme.
Pakistan's benchmark share index closed up 9.4% on Monday, while India's blue-chip Nifty 50 index closed 3.8% higher in its best session since February 2021.
In Beijing the foreign ministry said China, which also controls a small slice of Kashmir, was willing to maintain communication with both its neighbours, and play a 'constructive role in achieving a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire' and maintaining peace.
India blames Pakistan for an insurgency in its part of Kashmir that began in 1989, but Pakistan says it provides only moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri separatists.

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India's US$80b coal-power push is running dry
India's US$80b coal-power push is running dry

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India's US$80b coal-power push is running dry

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"India is loud at home but lonely abroad": Congress' Pawan Khera slams BJP govt's "muscular foreign policy"
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Malaysia Sun

time13 hours ago

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"India is loud at home but lonely abroad": Congress' Pawan Khera slams BJP govt's "muscular foreign policy"

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Rakyat Post

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Subscribe to our FREE The conference room at Pakistan's High Commission buzzed with quiet activity as reporters settled into their seats last Friday. High Commissioner Syed Ahsan Raza Shah adjusted his notes at the podium, preparing to outline his country's diplomatic priorities in Southeast Asia. Pakistan is renewing its decades-long effort to secure full dialogue partner status with ASEAN, building on relationships established since becoming the bloc's first sectoral dialogue partner in 1993. 'This matter has been discussed between the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of Malaysia. As soon as the moratorium (on accepting new dialogue partners) is lifted, we hope to be given full dialogue partner status,' Shah told the media briefing. Pakistan's diplomatic presence in Malaysia: The national flag at the Pakistan High Commission with Kuala Lumpur's skyline featuring the Petronas Towers. 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(Pix: Fernando Fong) Responding to Delegation Visit Allegations Shah used the briefing to address recent allegations regarding his office's conduct toward the Indian parliamentary delegation's visit to Malaysia. He categorically denied claims that He pointed out that in today's contemporary diplomacy, it is unthinkable for a country or embassy to request that its host country not allow a delegation from another country. How can we have the audacity to ask a host country, which has its own policies that we respect, to disallow a delegation? This claim is, to say the least, laughable, ridiculous, and preposterous. 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(Pix: Pakistan High Commission Malaysia) Shah suggested that references to 'Islamic solidarity' in some reports were intended to create discord between Pakistan and Malaysia, though he did not elaborate on specific instances. The High Commissioner concluded by calling on India's High Commission in Malaysia, led by Ambassador BN Reddy, to clarify its position regarding the allegations about Pakistan's conduct toward the Indian delegation. The diplomatic exchange reflects ongoing complexities in South Asian regional relationships, with Malaysia positioned as both an ASEAN partner and potential mediator in broader regional discussions. FYI, both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons 😰 — The Rakyat Post (@therakyatpost) READ MORE : Share your thoughts with us via TRP's . Get more stories like this to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter.

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