Srinagar: Calling Pakistan “the master of terror”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the neighbouring country has not learnt any lessons from past defeats and mistakes and is trying to keep itself relevant with the help of “terrorism and proxy war”.
Modi was speaking at Drass on the 25th anniversary of the Kargil War after paying tributes to soldiers who were killed during the war with Pakistan in 1999.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan has faced defeat for all its immoral and shameful attempts in the past.
“They (Pakistan) have always failed in the past. But Pakistan has not learnt anything from its history. It is trying to keep itself relevant with the help of terrorism and proxy war. Today when I am speaking from a place where the masters of terror can hear my voice directly, I want to tell these patrons of terrorism that their nefarious intentions will never succeed. Our brave hearts (soldiers) will crush terrorism with full force and the enemy will be given a befitting reply,” Modi said in his address, in an indirect reference to the heightened terror strikes in Jammu and & Kashmir.
Speaking about the 1999 Kargil war, Modi said India not only won the war, but gave a wonderful example of ‘truth, restraint and strength’.
“In Kargil, we not only won the war, we also gave a wonderful example of ‘truth, restraint and strength’. You know, India at that time was trying for peace and in return Pakistan once again showed its untrustworthy face. But falsehood and terror were defeated in the face of truth,” PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister also took a dig at the Congress and its allies in the Opposition over the Agnipath scheme.
Modi said the goal of Agnipath in the Army is to make the Army young and keep them fit for war.
In a veiled attack on the Congress, Modi said some people used to think that the Army means saluting politicians and doing parades.
“But for us, the Army means the faith of 140 crore countrymen. The goal of Agnipath is to make the Army young, to keep the Army continuously fit for war. Unfortunately, some people have made such a sensitive issue related to national security a subject of politics. These are the same people who weakened our Army by committing scams worth thousands of crore,” said PM Modi.
Modi attacked the Opposition and said that these are the same people who wanted the Indian Air Force to never get modern fighter jet.
“These are the same people who had made preparations to scrap the Tejas fighter plane,” the PM said. “The truth is that the Agnipath scheme will strengthen the nation.”
The PM also talked about the abrogation of Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
“In a few days, on August 5, it will be 5 years since Article 370 was abolished. Jammu and Kashmir is talking about a new future, talking about big dreams… Along with infrastructure development, the tourism sector is also growing rapidly in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Earlier, the Prime Minister laid a wreath at Kargil War Memorial in Drass and paid homage to the soldiers who were killed during the war in 1999.
PM Modi also carried out the first blast of the Shinkun La Tunnel Project, virtually. Once completed, the tunnel will be the highest in the world.
The Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed to commemorate India’s victory against Pakistan at Kargil. In 1999, Pakistani soldiers and militants had occupied many peaks from Drass to Batalik sector along the Line of Control (LoC) overlooking the strategic Srinagar-Leh highway.
The Indian Army along with the Indian Air Force later launched a massive operation and in the 74 days of battles, the Indian Army managed to win back its territory. As per official figures, 527 Indian soldiers were among the casualties at the end of the Kargil War.
And since this victory, the Army has been observing July 26 as Vijay Diwas and the main function is held at Drass.
