New Delhi [India], July 28 : Ahead of the scheduled debate in Parliament on Operation Sindoor, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi raised questions about the effectiveness of India's response to the Pahalgam terror attack, a military action taken by India against Pakistan-backed terrorists.
Chaturvedi pointed out that despite various measures taken by the government, including banning terrorist channels and social media accounts, the four terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack remain at large.
Chaturvedi questioned the intelligence failure that led to the Pahalgam attack, asking why there was no alert after Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir's speech before the attack.
Chaturvedi, while speaking to ANI, said, "Everyone wants to know where we had the intelligence lapse. Why didn't we become more alert after Asim Munir's speech, which occurred right before the Pahalgam attack? People were killed after asking about their religion. They wanted polarisation in India, but the people of India acted smartly and united against this propaganda."
Chaturvedi was referring to a statement made by Asim Munir at the Convention for Overseas Pakistanis event, who had said that India and Pakistan differ in every conceivable aspect, including religions, customs, traditions, thoughts and ambitions, reinforcing the Two-Nation Theory that led to Pakistan's creation in 1947.
Munir, invoking the 'two-nation theory', which was responsible for the creation of Pakistan back in 1947, asked the Pakistani citizens to teach their children the difference between Hindus and Muslims, which was the basis for the creation of the Islamic Republic.
Munir was elevated to the position of Field Marshal after falsely proclaiming "victory" in the recent India-Pakistan conflict. He is the de facto ruler of the country, while the civilian government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is little more than a puppet regime, designed to be subservient to the Army.
While highlighting the series measures taken by India in the aftermath of the attack including suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, ban on Pakistan-based media channels, influencer accounts, and cricketers, and halting of bilateral trade and diplomatic talks, Chaturvedi criticised the government's decision to normalize relations with Pakistan, citing the upcoming cricket match between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup.
Chaturvedi noted that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) had stated that Operation Sindoor is still ongoing, implying that the operation's objectives have not been fully achieved.
She said "We put the Indus Water Treaty on abeyance. The CDS said that Operation Sindoor is still in operation mode. We banned their channels, their influencer accounts, and imposed a ban on their cricketers who used foul language and displayed objectionable cartoons about Operation Sindoor. Additionally, we banned trade and talks with them. We sent multiparty delegations out in the world, but those four terrorists are still at large. We haven't found them yet."
Chaturvedi expressed concerns that normalising relations with Pakistan could be against India's interests, given the country's history of sponsoring terrorism
"Most importantly, they are trying to normalise the relationship. If India and Pakistan play a cricket match against each other anywhere in the world, it will be against the interests of the country," Chaturvedi said.
Twenty-six civilians were killed in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, after which India retaliated through precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
Meanwhile, a fiery debate on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor is expected to unfold in Parliament between top leaders from the ruling alliance and the Opposition, as the Lok Sabha is set to hold a special discussion on the Operation today.