India on Thursday blasted Pakistan for according state funerals to terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor, under which India launched missile strikes targeting nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
“…It’s also odd that the funerals of so-called civilians are being conducted with coffins wrapped in the national flag, and that state honours are being awarded,” said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during a press briefing on Wednesday.
“As far as we are concerned, the individuals eliminated at these facilities were terrorists. Giving terrorists state funerals may be a practice in Pakistan but it doesn't make much sense to us,” he added.
Exposing Pakistan’s hypocrisy, the Foreign Secretary displayed an image from one such funeral, showing uniformed Pakistani Army and police personnel praying behind the coffins of the slain terrorists, and questioned the message such a scene conveys.
During the press conference, Vikram Misri sternly warned Pakistan, "Now if there is an attempt at further escalation by Pakistan, it will be responded to in an appropriate domain, and therefore, the choices are entirely Pakistan's to make."
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, and MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal were present during the Ministry of External Affairs' press conference on Thursday.
He responded to Pakistan's allegation that India deliberately attacked religious sites by calling it "false." He said that the Indian armed forces targeted terrorist infrastructure, terrorist facilities, and locations clearly connected with incidents of cross-border terrorism into India.
Pakistan misuses religious sites as a cover to train terrorists: Foreign Secretary
"In fact, Pakistan is misusing religious sites as a cover to radicalize, direct, indoctrinate, and train terrorists," he added.
"Contrary to what Pakistan is claiming, yesterday Pakistan launched a targeted attack on the Sikh community in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, hitting a Gurdwara in Poonch and the homes of Sikh community members which came under attack. And we know that at least three individuals were killed in that particular attack," said the Foreign Secretary.
