Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday assured action on the terrorist attack on unarmed tourists in Pahalgam adding that the conspirators will be punished “beyond their imagination”.
Terrorists struck at a tourist location in Pahalgam in south Kashmir on Tuesday, killing at least 26 people, mostly tourists, and injuring several others.
Addressing a public gathering in Bihar’s Madhubani, PM Modi said the attack was on the soul of the nation.
“The attack was not on the innocent tourists, but on the soul of the nation. They dared to attack the soul of India. Now, the time has come to decimate whatever influence terrorism may have been left with. The will of 140-crore Indians will ensure that the backbone of the attackers and their patrons is broken once and for all. Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done,” he added.
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PM Modi acknowledged the tributes paid by world leaders and standing in solidarity with India.
“From the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world, India will identify, track and punish every terrorist involved in the attack and the conspirators. We will pursue them to the end of the earth. India’s spirit will not be broken by terrorism. Every effort will be made to ensure justice is done. Entire nation is one on it,” he said, speaking in English.
Before beginning his speech, PM Modi urged the gathering to observe silence as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives in Pahalgam.
Maintaining that peace and safety were the two prerequisites for development, the PM said that those who lost their lives were from different regions and spoke different languages, but the entire nation is firmly behind their families.
“If one lost a son, another lost a brother and yet another lost spouse. Someone spoke Bangla, someone Kannada, Odiya, someone was from Gujarat and there was one also from Bihar. The pain is the same across the length and breadth of the nation. Terrorism will not go unpunished. We will hound them,” he added.
PM Modi was in Bihar for the National Panchayati Raj Day programme where he laid the foundation stone worth ₹1,170-crore of development projects, including LPG bottling plant and rail unloading facility.
He also inaugurated projects worth ₹5030-crore, including rail lines and bridges, flagged off four trains, distributed benefits worth ₹930-crore to two-lakh self-help groups and approval letters to 15-lakh new beneficiaries under the PM Awas Yojana – Gramin and keys of houses to 1.54 lakh beneficiaries under PAAU -G and PM AY-U.
