New Delhi [India], July 28 : BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda, during the discussion on Operation Sindoor in Parliament, told the House that it appears that at least one terrorist involved in the Pahalgam attack has been neutralised in an ongoing anti-terror operation, Mahadev, in Jammu and Kashmir.
"As we were debating this issue today, some of us must have seen in the news that an Operation Mahadev is being conducted in Jammu and Kashmir targeted at terrorists and it appears that at least one of those eliminated today was involved in the Pahalgam attack...," Panda said.
Three terrorists were killed in an intense firefight with security forces in the Harwan area near Dachigam National Park of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army said on Monday.
The anti-terror Operation Mahadev took place in the general area of Lidwas, Chinar Corps of Indian Army said.
"OP MAHADEV - Contact established in General Area Lidwas. Operation in progress" the Chinar Corp said in a previous post on X.
Recalling previous terror incidents, Panda criticised past Congress-led governments, saying that Pakistani-sponsored terrorists were attacking India and killing Indians in the past.
"If we look at the new normal that I have been talking about, it is important to understand what the past was. In the past, on a regular basis, almost on a daily basis, Pakistani-sponsored terrorists were attacking India and killing Indians. 2005 Delhi serial blasts, a dossier was sent to Pakistan. 2006 Varanasi bombings, India raised the issue in Indo-Pak talks. The Mumbai attacks in 2008, when so many people were killed, and the then government decided not to retaliate. The retaliation was planned by our armed forces, but the then government did not permit retaliation," he said.
"It is on record that the then senior-most officials of the government, whether it was the Foreign Secretary, the then NSA, took a decision not to hit back at Pakistan. Seven months after the Mumbai attacks, the then Prime Minister met the Pakistani President on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Russia and decided that India and Pakistan would continue dialogue. Our governments of the day, over decades, kept appeasing them, putting no pressure on them to stop their terror funding...," he further said.
Operation Sindoor was carried out in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people on April 22, this year. India targeted nine terror hubs across Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and Pakistan and neutralised over 100 terrorists. After the May 7 operations, India and Pakistan reached a cessation of hostilities understanding on May 10.