Panaji: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday asked Pakistan to hand over terrorists Hafiz Syed and Masood Azhar to India if Islamabad is serious about talks with New Delhi.
‘If Pakistan is serious about talks, it should hand over terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar to India so that justice is served,” the Defence Minister said addressing officers and sailors onboard INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, off Goa coast.
‘Both of them are not only in India’s list of Most Wanted Terrorists, they are also UN Designated Terrorists. Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the Mumbai attacks, has been brought to India recently. Hafiz Saeed is also guilty of the Mumbai attacks, and justice must be done for his crime,” he said.
On Pakistan’s repeated offer of talks, the Defence Minjister reaffirmed India’s stand saying the talks could be only on Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and terrorism.
“If there are talks, it will only be on terrorism and PoK,’ he said.
He said Pakistan needs to understand that time is up for the dangerous game of terrorism it has been playing since Independence.
“Now, if Pakistan instigates any terrorist act against India, it will have to bear the consequences and face defeat. India will not hesitate. It will use every method to root out the menace of terrorism,” he warned.
He said “anti-India activities” were being carried out openly from Pakistani soil and India is completely free to carry out every kind of operation against terrorists on both sides of the border and the sea.
‘Today, the whole world is acknowledging India’s right to protect its citizens against terrorism,’ he said, emphasising that Pakistan must uproot the nursery of terrorism operating on its soil with its own hands.
Praising the Indian Navy’s role in the Operation Sindoor, he said when Indian Air Force destroyed the terror bases on Pakistani soil, the Navy’s aggressive deployment in the Arabian Sea, its unmatched maritime domain awareness and supremacy confined the Pakistani Navy to its own shores.
“Our Western Fleet ships deployed at sea within 96 hours of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, carried out successful firings of surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and torpedoes on the western and eastern coast. It demonstrated the combat readiness of our platforms, systems and crew and our intent and readiness, forcing the enemy to come into a defensive posture,” he said.
UNI
