'Terrorists in coffins, not civilians': India points out 'state honour' to tear into Pak claims

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday dismissed the Pakistan government's claims that civilians were targeted during 'Operation Sindoor', which armed forces carried out to destroy the terrorist camps operating in Pakistan and the Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK)."As far as we are concerned, the individuals eliminated at these facilities were terrorists. Giving terrorists state funerals, maybe a practice in Pakistan," said foreign secretary Vikram Misri during a press briefing.He said that if only civilians were killed in the attacks "I wonder what message this picture actually sends to all of you. This is a question that is worth asking". Misri further said that it was "odd that funerals of civilians are being carried out by coffins wrapped in their national flag"."It's also odd that funerals of civilians are being carried out by coffins wrapped in their national flag, and state honours are being awarded... Yesterday Pakistan launched a targeted attack on the Sikh community of J&K- hitting a gurdwara in Poonch and hitting the Sikh community members, who came under attack, and three individuals were killed in the attacks... A total of 16 civilians have been killed in Poonch and several others have been injured."The foreign secretary called Pakistan an "epicentre of global terrorism" and reminded how Osama Bin Laden, the key conspirator behind the 9/11 attack in the US, was found in Pakistan. "Pakistan's reputation as the epicentre of global terrorism is rooted in a number of instances... I don't need to remind where Osama Bin Laden was found and who called him a martyr...Pakistan is also home to a large number of UN proscribed terrorists and also to terrorists proscribed by many countries...You must have seen in the last few days, their Defence minister and former foreign minister accepted their country's involvement with such terror groups," he added.During a press briefing on May 7, the government had described its retaliatory strikes under Operation Sindoor as “focused, measured, and non-escalatory,” emphasising that no Pakistani military installations or civilian sites were targeted.