If Pakistan not able to take action against terrorism, India can help: Rajnath Singh
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said if Pakistan cannot take action against terrorism on its soil, India is ready to help the neighbouring country as Indian forces are capable of fighting terror on the other side of the border as well.Initiating a special discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Rajya Sabha, Singh said three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack have been eliminated by Indian forces.He further said that Operation Sindoor - India's response to the Pahalgam attack -- has been suspended, and can be resumed anytime if Pakistan indulges in terror activities in India again."India wants terrorism to end in the whole world, including Pakistan. I would advise Pakistan, if you are not able to take action against terrorism, take help from India, we are ready to help. Our forces are capable of fighting terror on this side of the border, as well as on the other side, this has been proved by Operation Sindoor," he said."If Pakistan commits any terror incidents in future, we will relaunch Operation Sindoor without hesitation," he said. "Our vision is that Operation Sindoor should carry on continuously. There can be a comma but no full stop," he stressed.Singh also congratulated the security forces for killing three terrorists who were involved in the Pahalgam attack in which 26 people were killed."I congratulate the forces for killing three terrorists who carried out the Pahalgam terror attack in April. These are the terrorists who killed people in Pahalgam," the defence minister said.He said Home Minister Amit Shah has provided details of the joint operation by the forces in the Lok Sabha.Singh said post the Pahalgam attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with the service chiefs, and gave them free hand to use their wisdom, strategic understanding and regional security situation to decide on the response.He said the military leadership also showed maturity, and stressed that India's response - Operation Sindoor - was aimed at giving a clear message that India will take strong action and go to any extent against terror."Our action was in self-defence, it was not expansionist...The aim was to destroy terror infrastructure and give the message of zero tolerance for terror," Singh said."The political-military objective was to punish Pakistan for using terrorism as a proxy war," he added.Singh said Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) urged India to stop the hostilities, and India accepted it on the condition that the operation would be suspended, not terminated."If Pakistan commits any terror incidents in future, we will relaunch Operation Sindoor without hesitation," he said. "Our vision is that Operation Sindoor should carry on continuously. There can be a comma but no full stop," he said.While expressing surprise over questions raised by some opposition leaders over getting back Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), Singh said, "I am surprised at this demand, because when they were in power, they did just the opposite"."There would come a day, I cannot predict when, but a day would come when people in PoK would be able to say proudly that they are Indians," he said.He said the forces achieved the goals set under the operation."Through Operation Sindoor, we have given a clear message, India can go to any extent against terrorism," he said.Singh appealed to the international community to stop funding for Pakistan, stating that a major portion goes into funding terror activities.He also slammed the United Nations over Pakistan's appointment to the key counter-terrorism committee.Earlier, as the Upper House reassembled at 2 pm, after it was adjourned around 11 am, Deputy Chairman Harivansh said the discussion on Operation Sindoor would be taken up, and urged the members to be mindful of the sensitive nature of the issue.Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien tried to raise a point of order.Harivansh, however, did not allow it, stating that it was not related to the topic of discussion. TMC MPs raised slogans against the SIR, and some MPs also trooped into the Well. As the Chair did not allow the Opposition MPs to speak, MPs from TMC and some other INDIA bloc parties staged a walkout from the House.
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(Image: Reuters) Washington: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he is going to further raise tariffs on India in the next 24 hours, after announcing 25 per cent tariffs from August 7. In an interview with CNBC, Trump said he will raise tariffs on India, revising the earlier settled rate of 25 per cent. 'India has the highest tariffs. We do very little business with India. We settled on 25 per cent, but I think I am going to raise that substantially within the next 24 hours,' the US President was quoted as saying. He claimed that India is buying Russian oil and fuelling the Russian war machine. This comes a day after the US President stated that he will 'substantially' raise US tariffs on India, accusing it of buying massive amounts of Russian oil and selling it for big profits. New Delhi has called the threat of additional tariffs 'unjustified and unreasonable.' Russia also responded strongly on Tuesday, labelling such US pressure tactics as 'illegitimate'. It backed India and, while criticising Trump over his threats to increase tariffs on New Delhi for buying oil from Moscow, contended that 'sovereign nations must have the right to choose their trading partners'. 'Russia notes US threats against India but does not consider such statements to be legitimate. Sovereign countries must have and have the right to choose their own trading partners, partners in trade and economic cooperation, and to choose those trade and economic cooperation regimes that are in the interests of a particular country,' the Russian President's spokesman Dmitri Peskov was quoted as saying by Russia's state-owned news agency TASS. After Trump threatened to impose hefty tariffs on New Delhi, the Indian government on Monday said that the targeting of the country by the US over Russian oil purchase is unjustified and unreasonable. A statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson said that like any major economy, 'India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security'. According to the government, India has been targeted by the United States and the European Union for importing oil from Russia after the commencement of the Ukraine conflict. 'In fact, India began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict. The United States at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets' stability,' it emphasised. –
