New Delhi: While addressing the Parliament, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh sternly said that the military action against terrorism has been paused, not ceased, and India will never be afraid of the ‘nuclear’ threats given by Pakistan. His statement came during a discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Rajya Sabha.

Singh also stressed that organisations and communities across the globe have to rethink and stop the financial support they have been giving to Pakistan, because a huge amount of that funding is being used to finance terrorism.

Answering the question that the Opposition has been asking for long—regarding the role the United States played in the ceasefire—he said the pause was declared under no pressure. Trump, on many occasions, has taken credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

Singh further shared that his vision is to let Operation Sindoor continue. He quoted, “There can be a comma but no full stop. If Pakistan commits any terror incidents in future, we will relaunch Operation Sindoor without hesitation.”

Crediting the army for carrying out a successful operation without any collateral damage, he said that under the leadership of PM Modi, India knows how to give a befitting reply. He called the action ‘self-defence’ and not expansionist.

“India wants terrorism to end in the whole world, including Pakistan… I had advised Pakistan earlier as well, and today I want to say again, that if you are unable to take effective action against terrorism in Pakistan, take India’s help,” he said. “Indian forces are capable of taking effective action against terrorism on this side of the border, as well as on the other side. Pakistan has already witnessed this during Operation Sindoor.”

Attacking the Opposition over the repeated questioning on casualties, Singh said that if the Opposition had taken necessary action after the 2008 terror attack, Pakistan could have learnt its lesson by now. He further targeted the Opposition and said that some people believe in just talking because Pakistan has nuclear weapons, but they forget that terrorism has already taken many lives and a response was essential.

Addressing the Opposition’s concern over why PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) wasn’t taken back during Operation Sindoor, he said, “That day isn’t too far.”

Raising serious concerns over Pakistan being the Vice Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the United Nations Security Council, he said, “It is like making the cat in charge of the milk.”

Singh even questioned the freedom of Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar to move around in Pakistan and attend funerals also attended by the Pakistani military. “It is a mockery of the global fight against terrorism that Pakistan is expected to lead the global community against terrorism.”

He also listed the expenditure made on the military for 2024–25, which amounts to Rs 6,21,941 crore in FY 2024–25.