Narendra Modi comments during 79th Independence Day ceremony at Red Fort in New Delhi
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the South Asian nation will not “tolerate nuclear threats” and will “not differentiate between terrorists and their supporters” during a live broadcast.
Addressing the 79th Independence Day celebrations at the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, Modi also announced the launch of Sudarshan Chakra, an air defense system expected to be operational within 10 years.
Modi described the destruction caused by Operation Sindoor in Pakistan as “so massive that new revelations are being made every day.” His remark was in reference to New Delhi's cross-border missile strikes in May, which followed the April 22 attack on the Pahalgam tourist resort in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan retaliated, and the clashes continued for four days before US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire on May 10.
“Our country has faced terrorism for decades. We have now established a new normal. Terrorists and those who harbor terrorism will not be differentiated, and they are equal enemies of humanity,” he said. “In (the) future, if our enemies persist in such attempts, our armed forces will respond, on their own terms, at a time of their choosing.”
There was no immediate response from Pakistani authorities to Modi’s latest statement.
Modi said “nuclear blackmail” would no longer be tolerated and reiterated New Delhi’s stance on the Indus Waters Treaty, which India suspended following the Pahalgam attack. “India has now decided: blood and water will not flow together,” he said.
His comments came after Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Asim Munir, warned during a visit to the US last week that Islamabad would never allow India to choke the Indus River and would defend its water rights at all costs.
"We will wait for India to build a dam, and when they do so, we will destroy it," multiple Pakistani news outlets quoted him as saying at an event with the Pakistani-American community in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday.
"The Indus River is not the Indians’ family property. We have no shortage of resources to undo the Indian designs to stop the river," Munir said.
New Delhi blamed the Pahalgam attack on Islamabad, which denied responsibility and called for a neutral investigation.
On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in an Independence Day message, reiterated his offer to India to resolve all issues between the two countries through dialogue and said New Delhi needs to demonstrate the same will for the resolution of all disputes, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
Earlier, Pakistan rejected India's narrative of alleged "nuclear blackmail' as a "misleading and self-serving construct.”
