The Japan Times - India vows to crush terror 'ecosystem', a year after Pakistan conflict

Relations between nuclear-armed neighbours plummeted last year after an April 22 attack in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 26 men, mostly Hindu tourists, leading to their worst conflict in decades.

India blamed Pakistan for backing the attack -- a charge Islamabad denied -- triggering tit-for-tat diplomatic measures and a sharp military escalation.

The conflict escalated after India launched strikes on May 7, 2025 -- on what it described as "terrorist camps" in Pakistan.

That prompted an immediate response from Islamabad, leading to airstrikes, drone swarms and heavy mortar fire between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

"We remain as steadfast as ever in our resolve to defeat terrorism and destroy its enabling ecosystem," Modi said on Thursday, a year on since the launch of what India dubbed "Operation Sindoor".

Modi's Hindu nationalist government used Sindoor, the Hindi word for the red powder which married Hindu women wear on their foreheads, as a sign that it was to avenge those widowed in the April 22 attack.

"They gave a fitting response to those who dared to attack innocent Indians at Pahalgam. The entire nation salutes our forces for their valour," he said in a statement.

More than 70 people were killed on both sides.

Pakistan claims to have shot down five Indian fighter jets, including three advanced French Rafale aircraft, all of which were in Indian airspace at the time. India has not disclosed any losses.

On Thursday Pakistan said it would defend itself strongly against any attack in a statement marking the anniversary of a conflict Islamabad calls "Marka-e-Haq", or "Battle of Truth".

"We reaffirm that any threat to our homeland will be met with national unity, unshakeable resolve, and strength through all means available," a foreign ministry statement said.

Without mentioning India by name, it added: "Last year, when aggression was imposed upon us, Pakistan... acted with calm resolve and moral clarity. Our response was measured, responsible, and precise; guided not by emotion, but by principle."

The neighbours agreed to end the four-day conflict on May 10, a ceasefire first announced by US President Donald Trump.

Officials from Islamabad and New Delhi confirmed the ceasefire on May 10, minutes after Trump posted the announcement on his Truth Social network. India has repeatedly insisted that the truce was worked out directly with Islamabad.

India is also reported to be readying a test-fire of the latest model of the domestically developed ballistic Agni missile -- meaning "fire" in Sanskrit -- capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads.

Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in a post on social media, claimed the Agni-6 missile had a range of up to 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles).

It claimed that it would place India in an elite club of nations with such long-distance missiles.

"This missile will make India's security impenetrable and place us among the most powerful nations in the world," it said, without giving further details of the launch.

However, Indian media report a Notice to Air Missions has been issued for a warning area over the Bay of Bengal, according to the Times of India newspaper.

S.Yamamoto--JT