New Delhi, May 7
Senior Congress leader Rashid Alvi on Wednesday welcomed the Indian armed forces' successful counter-terror operation, Operation Sindoor, in retaliation for the Pahalgam massacre, but expressed disappointment over what he described as a “missed golden opportunity†to reclaim Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
While acknowledging the unity of the opposition with the government on matters of national security, Alvi emphasised that the strike could have gone further in terms of strategic objectives.
"Right now, we are waiting for more details of the operation. We have consistently said that the entire country, including the entire opposition, stands with the Government of India. But we were hoping that this would be the moment to strike Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It was a golden opportunity to take back PoK, and we should have acted on it," he said.
Alvi also mentioned Pakistan Army chief, General Asim Munir, whose name has been linked by Indian intelligence to the orchestration of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives. "We wanted Asim Munir brought to Delhi in chains, the man who masterminded this attack, as per several reports. He should have been punished. But that hasn’t happened yet," he said.
However, the Congress leader dismissed concerns about escalation. "I don’t think this operation will turn into a war. It looks similar in scale and nature to the earlier surgical strikes. I see no reason to believe it will escalate into full-scale conflict," he contended.
Operation Sindoor was a precision military strike conducted by the Indian Army targeting nine terror infrastructure sites inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The operation was monitored closely by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, NSA Ajit Doval, and top military leadership.
The Indian Army's spokesperson emphasised the precise nature of the strikes, stating: "Our actions have been focused and precise. We have only targeted terrorist camps from where attacks against India have been planned and executed."
- IANS