Myanmar action message to all including Pakistan: Indian Minister
The minister said: "We will strike at a place and at a time of our choosing."
NEW DELHI: Hours after Indian Army’s cross border-raid in Myanmar, Indian Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said that the strikes were a message to all countries, including Pakistan, and groups harbouring “terror intent” towards India.
The minister said: "We will strike at a place and at a time of our choosing.”
Speaking to The Indian Express, Rathore, a retired Colonel from the Army, said, “It was a much-needed decision that was taken by the Prime Minister. This decision was extremely bold in nature. And it involved our Special Forces crossing the border and going deep into another country.”
Rathore added that intelligence reports were that “there were two camps preparing another strike on India” and these two camps were geographically distant from each other. “Both camps were struck and were completely annihilated. The Special Forces returned without a single casualty,” the minister said.
Earlier, choosing #ManipurRevenge and #56inchRocks as hashtags in his tweets, Rathore confirmed the action was taken on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi s directions.
A salute to Indian Army for #ManipurRevenge strike.Massive political will displayed by our strong @PMOIndia @narendramodi @manoharparrikar
— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) June 9, 2015
In another tweet, Rathore said, “Indian Army strikes into the heart of militants. Desh ke dushmano ko karara jawab. Kushal netritva, mazboot sarkar PM@narendramodi #56inchRocks.”
The minister said that today’s action could become possible because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to various countries wherein “India’s intention towards a friendly neighbourhood and commitment towards mutual development was made as evident as its zero-tolerance towards terror”. “We will not tolerate any strikes on India or Indians. We’ll always wield the initiative on either being friendly or engaging in aggressive action. We will strike at a place and at a time of our choosing,” Rathore said, underlining this as the “essence of warfare”.
Asked whether India could engage in similar surgical strikes on terror groups in Pakistan, Rathore said, “This is a message for all countries, including Pakistan, and groups harbouring terror intent towards India. A terrorist is a terrorist and has no other identity. We will strike when we want to.”
