New Delhi:  India on Thursday slammed Pakistan’s “bizarre” response, accusing it of according state honours to the so-called civilian killed during Operation Sindoor — New Delhi’s retaliatory strike following the Pahalgam terror attack.

“ If Islamabad's statements were, indeed, true, 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,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in an MEA briefing on Thursday evening.

According to a PTI report, three individuals — Qari Abdul Malik, Khalid, and Mudassir — were given ‘state funerals’ attended by Pakistan Army personnel. The report noted that all three were affiliated with Jamaat-ud-Dawah, a proscribed outfit led by terrorist Hafiz Saeed.

The funerals took place in Muridke, a site struck by Indian forces during Operation Sindoor. Located in Pakistan’s Punjab province, Muridke also served as the base for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba group, which, according to intelligence inputs, trained the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack. 

India’s strikes under Operation Sindoor were strictly aimed at terror infrastructure in Pakistan and not at any military establishments, he said, underscoring New Delhi’s intent to avoid escalation.

“Our intention is not to escalate matters, and we are only responding to the escalation. No military targets have been targeted; only terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan has been hit,” Misri told reporters during a media briefing on the operation launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

Misri accused Pakistan of launching a deliberate attack on the Sikh community in Jammu and Kashmir, saying a gurdwara in Poonch was struck and Sikh civilians were among those targeted.

"Pakistan launched a targeted attack on the Sikh community of Jammu and Kashmir, hitting a gurdwara in Poonch and hitting the Sikh community members who came under attack," Misri said.

He confirmed that three people were killed in the assault and noted that, in total, 16 civilians have lost their lives in Poonch due to the ongoing attacks, with several others sustaining injuries.

He said India informed the United Nations about The Resistance Front - the Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy that twice claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack -. Still, Pakistan objected any reference to the terrorist group. 

The Foreign Secretary said Pakistan’s refusal to acknowledge the involvement of The Resistance Front (TRF) in the Pahalgam attack, despite mounting evidence, had left the country “exposed” before the international community.
He was referring to a closed-door session of the United Nations Security Council held on Tuesday, during which Pakistan faced tough questions about Lashkar-e-Taiba’s alleged role in the Pahalgam assault.

“This was after the TRF claimed responsibility for Pahalgam not once but twice...” he noted.

According to the Foreign Secretary, Pakistan’s attempts to delay proceedings at the UN appeared to be a tactic to buy time and obscure its tracks.

He added that India could no longer take Islamabad’s statements on fighting cross-border terrorism at face value.

Misri also drew attention to the fact that Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden — the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center — had been located and killed by US special forces in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

"I don't need to remind anyone where bin Laden was found and who called him a martyr..." he said, alluding to a controversial remark made by former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who in June 2020 told Parliament, “I will never forget how we Pakistanis were embarrassed when the Americans came into Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden... martyred him.”

Islamabad has demanded an “international and independent” probe into New Delhi’s allegations and described India’s post-attack measures — particularly the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — as “an act of war.”