New Delhi: Terrorists and their backers carried out the Pahalgam attack to destroy Kashmir again as they did not like the return of peace and prosperity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday and vowed the “harshest” response to the “perpetrators and conspirators”.
As the Prime Minister, in his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio address, spoke of a “decisive battle” against terrorism, authorities in Jammu and Kashmir razed more houses of terrorists and rounded up their sympathisers in a stepped-up crackdown on terror ecosystem after the Pakistan-linked ultras on Tuesday shot dead 26 people, mostly tourists, in cold blood. With this, nine houses of suspected terrorists and overground workers of terror outfits have been razed so far.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) formally took over the Pahalgam terrorist attack probe, registering a case in Jammu on Sunday. Several teams of the agency are involved in searching for evidence and questioning eyewitnesses, including relatives of victims, to uncover the terror conspiracy, officials said.
The Prime Minister said, “The whole world stands with 140 crore Indians in our fight against terrorism. I once again assure the affected families that they will get justice, and justice will be done,” Modi said in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ address.
The Prime Minister said the attack in the famous tourist town in Kashmir reflected the desperation and cowardice of the patrons of terrorism, a reference to Pakistan, at a time when peace was returning to the Valley.
He said there was vibrancy in its schools and colleges construction work had gained unprecedented pace, democracy was
getting stronger, the number of tourists was increasing at a record rate, people’s income was increasing, and new opportunities were being created for the youth.
Modi said, “Enemies of the country, the enemies of Jammu and Kashmir did not like that. Terrorists and the masterminds of terror want Kashmir to be destroyed again and hence they executed such a big conspiracy.”
“In this war against terrorism, the unity of the nation, the solidarity of 140 crore Indians, is our greatest strength. This very unity is the foundation of our decisive battle against terrorism,” he said.
Modi said, “I can feel that the blood of every Indian is on the boil after seeing the pictures of the terrorist attack.” The Prime Minister said the attack has drawn condemnation from the whole world, noting that international leaders have called him up, written letters and sent messages.
Meanwhile, security forces have raided more than 500 locations in the Valley in just five days and grilled hundreds of suspects.
Political parties in J&K urged the Centre to ensure that innocent people are not targeted while it goes after terrorists.
The NIA teams said its teams have been camping at the terror attack site since Wednesday, looking for clues.
“The entry and exit points are being closely scrutinised by the investigating NIA teams for clues to the modus operandi of the terrorists. The teams, aided by forensic and other experts, are checking the entire area thoroughly for evidence to expose the terror conspiracy that led to the horrendous attack that has shocked the nation,” an NIA statement said.
The eyewitnesses are also being questioned in minute detail to piece together the sequence of events that led to one of the worst terror attacks in Kashmir, it said.
