New Delhi: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday described India’s cross-border Operation Sindoor as the “deepest-ever” strike against terrorism, drawing a parallel to the 2011 US operation that eliminated al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. Speaking at an event, Dhankhar hailed the precision and scale of the military action as a new “global benchmark” in the international fight against terrorism.
Referring to the covert US raid that killed bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2, 2011, Dhankhar said without naming him, “A global terrorist who planned, supervised, and executed the September 11 attacks inside the US was ‘dealt with’ by the US forces ‘similarly’.” He added, “Bharat has done it. And done it to the knowledge of the world.”
‘Strikes so precise that only terrorists were harmed’
Operation Sindoor was launched in the aftermath of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of at least 26 civilians on April 22—an assault the Vice President described as the deadliest since the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. According to Dhankhar, the forces conducted precise air strikes deep across the International Border targeting nine terror sites affiliated with Pakistan-based terror outfits Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
“These strikes were so precise that only terrorists were harmed,” he said. “While maintaining the spirit of peace, the objective has been to strike at terrorism,” he added further.
Highlighting the resolve of the Union government, Dhankhar recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong message issued from Bihar following the Pahalgam attack. “Those were not empty words. The world has now realised,” he asserted.
