India ready for ‘every kind of strike’ against terrorism: Defence minister Rajnath Singh warns Pakistan

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India seeks peace but will not compromise on national security if Pakistan continues its alleged support for terrorism.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday sent a strong message to Pakistan, saying India remains fully prepared to carry out any kind of strike against terrorism if the neighbouring country continues its "state policy of terrorism". He further asserted that India will not compromise on national security under any circumstances.

Union defence minister Rajnath Singh addresses an event in Noida, UP. (@rajnathsingh/X)

Addressing the NDTV Defence Conclave, Singh said India does not seek conflict or the territory of any other country, but there is a difference between peace and cowardice.

"India believes in peace. India never wants war. India never wants to capture the land of any foreign country in the world. India doesn't even want to threaten anyone. But there is a difference between peace and cowardice, and the whole world should understand this," Singh said.

"India wants peace, but India will not compromise on its security under any circumstances," he added.

The Defence Minister said India believes in dialogue, but the scope of discussions ends when a country provides support and shelter to terrorism against the country.

"India believes in dialogue. India believes in dialogue, but if any country gives shelter to terrorism against India, then the scope of dialogue ends right there," he said.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks at the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Singh said, "The Prime Minister has clearly said that the countries that make terrorism their policy, give shelter and support to terrorists, have to give a strong message that terrorism cannot be a strategic asset for anyone under any circumstances."

Issuing a direct warning to Pakistan, Singh said, "As long as our neighbor continues the state policy of terrorism, India is completely ready for every kind of strike against terrorism. We want to tell our neighbor as well as the world."

The Defence Minister also said India's operations and cooperation with other countries would always be guided by national interests.

"India wants operations, but we do not want operations at the cost of national interests. India wants cooperation, but not at the cost of national interests. India wants global stability, but not at the cost of its strategic autonomy. Our policy is very clear. India is a proponent of peace, but India will not make any kind of compromise regarding its security," he said.

Singh also invoked the concept of the "Thucydides Trap" to describe India's global positioning, saying, "Thucydides Trap means that when a country rises, often its conflict happens with the pre-established powerful countries... the conflict between revisionist power and status-quoist power almost always happens; you can look at the past history of the world."

Calling this framework a "narrow mindset", he said, adding, "We should not fall into any such binary. In the context of India, this thing does not fit at all. India is neither a status-quoist power nor a revisionist power. I believe we are a civilizational power; we also need to understand this fact."

Singh's remarks came amid a series of exchanges between India and Pakistan at international forums over terrorism and security concerns.

Earlier this month, PM Modi, addressing the 26th SCO Summit in Bishkek, had called for dismantling the "entire ecosystem of terrorism," saying, "We must dismantle the entire ecosystem of terrorism--its financing, recruitment, radicalization, and safe havens. We must speak in one voice that there can be no place for double standards on this serious issue."

He had added that countries using terrorism "as an instrument of their policy" must be told that it "cannot be a 'strategic asset' for anyone."

At the UN General Assembly, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday (local time) launched a sharp critique of Pakistan, stating, "Yesterday, a serial practitioner of terrorism misrepresented facts before this assembly. Arguments were invoked to normalise terrorism and claim immunity from its consequences. That will not stand. Our right to defend ourselves against terrorism will be exercised."

"Friendship and goodwill cannot coexist with terrorism, and understandings premised on that will naturally be called into question," he added.

During the UNGA session, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had raised the Kashmir issue and claimed credit for developments related to the May 2025 conflict with India, while crediting US President Donald Trump for his intervention in halting the confrontation.

India has consistently rejected Sharif's and Trump's claims that US mediation halted the May 2025 conflict, maintaining that the ceasefire followed direct military-to-military communication after Operation Sindoor, in which India struck terror infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7 last year, in response to the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians

Sharif had also raised the issue of the Indus Waters Treaty, saying India's decision to keep the treaty in abeyance had no legal basis and saying that any attempt to stop, impede or divert Pakistan's share of waters would be treated as an "act of war".

India has maintained that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country and has repeatedly rejected references to the issue by Pakistan at international forums.