Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday backed the Indian Armed Forces' military operation that targeted terrorist camps inside the territory of Pakistan and in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK).

In his short message on X, praising the Operation Sindoor, conducted by the country's Armed forces just days after the Pahalgam terror strike, Rahul Gandhi wrote: "Proud of our Armed Forces. Jai Hind!"

Voicing similar emotion and backing the Armed Forces for its action, Congress supremo   Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on X: " India has an unflinching National Policy against all forms of terrorism emanating from Pakistan and PoK"

"We are extremely proud of our Indian Armed Forces who have stuck terror camps in Pakistan and PoK. We applaud their resolute resolve and courage," Kharge said.

"National Unity and solidarity is the need of the hour and the Indian National Congress stands with our Armed Forces. Our leaders have shown the path in past, and National Interest is supreme for us," the Congress leader said.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi posted on X: "I welcome the surgical strikes carried out by our defence forces on terrorist camps in Pakistan. The Pakistani deep state must be taught a tough lesson so that another Pahalgam never happens again. Pakistan's terror infrastructure must be completely destroyed. Jai Hind!"

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also praised the India Armed Forces' action against terrorist camps.

Operation Sindoor

The Indian Armed Forces early Wednesday launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist camps at various locations inside Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), to avenge the Pahalgam terrorist attack, in which 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists, were killed on April 22.

“A little while ago, the Indian Armed Forces launched ‘OPERATION SINDOOR’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed,” the Ministry of Defence said in a media release after 2 am.

According to a statement by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the operation was aimed at neutralizing terror camps actively involved in planning and executing attacks against India. A total of nine sites have been hit during the strike.

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Officials said the strikes were focused, measured, and non-escalatory, deliberately avoiding any Pakistani military installations. “India has shown significant restraint both in the selection of targets and the method of execution,” the statement added.

Pahalgam Attack

Twenty-six people, including 23 Hindu male tourists, were killed by terrorists in Baisaran meadows, a popular destination in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, on April 22.

The terrorists- belonging to The Resistance Front (TRF), which is an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)- asked the victims to chant Islamic verses (kalma) and made them pull down their pants to be sure of their their non-Muslim religious identities (read circumcision) before gunning them down before their families, including wives, children and daughters.

The massacre triggered a nationwide outrage and escalated India-Pakistan tensions as New Delhi vowed to avenge the killings.