India Blasts Pakistan Over Deadly Shelling, Says Gurdwara Attack Targeted Sikhs

India Condemns Pakistan’s Attack on Sikh Community

India has sharply condemned Pakistan for a deadly cross-border shelling attack, alleging that the Pakistani military deliberately targeted a Sikh gurdwara and homes belonging to Sikhs in the Indian-administered region of Jammu and Kashmir.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri addressed a special press conference on Thursday, expressing outrage over the incident. He stated that Pakistan had orchestrated a ‘targeted attack’ on the Sikh community in Poonch, a district in Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of 16 civilians and injuries to many others. Three individuals were killed in the attacks on the gurdwara and Sikh residences.

Pakistan’s Retaliation and India’s Response

According to Misri, Pakistan launched this attack as retaliation for India’s ‘Operation Sindoor,’ a precise military operation that targeted terrorist hideouts within Pakistan. He pointed out the unusual spectacle of Pakistan holding state funerals for those killed in the operation, with coffins draped in national flags and full military honors. Misri questioned this practice, stating that the individuals eliminated were terrorists, and while Pakistan might have its own norms, it seemed illogical to accord such honors to them.

Misri firmly asserted that Pakistan escalated the situation, and India’s response, Operation Sindoor, was a restrained one, strictly confined to terrorist infrastructure. He categorically rejected Pakistan’s claims that Operation Sindoor targeted civilian infrastructure, particularly dismissing allegations related to the Neelum-Jhelum dam project as ‘untrue’ and ‘fabricated.’