'US did it with Rana, why can't Pakistan': Indian envoys demands Saeed, Lakhvi and Sajid Mir's extradition

India's Ambassador to Israel says Operation Sindoor is only "paused", not over, urging Pakistan to hand over key terrorists and calling for a global coalition against terrorism.

India's Ambassador to Israel, JP Singh, has reaffirmed that Operation Sindoor — India's military action against Pakistan-based terror groups — is currently "paused" but "not over", reiterating New Delhi's demand that Islamabad must hand over key terror masterminds to face justice.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Israeli news channel i24 on Monday, Singh also called for an international coalition to fight terrorism and warned that India would continue its offensive strategy against cross-border terror.

Narrating the events that triggered the offensive, Singh said the operation was aimed at neutralising terror groups in Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack of April 22.

"The terrorists killed people based on their religion. They asked people their religion before killing them and 26 innocent lives were lost," Singh said.

“India's operation was against terror groups and their infrastructure to which Pakistan responded by attacking India's military installations,” he added.

'Ceasefire Is Holding But Operation Not Over'

When asked if the conflict had concluded, Singh responded, "The ceasefire is still holding on but we have made it very clear that Operation Sindoor is paused, it's not yet over."

He emphasised that the campaign against terrorism will be sustained. 

“The fight against terrorism will continue. We have set a new normal and the new normal is that we will follow an offensive strategy. Wherever terrorists are, we have to kill those terrorists and we have to destroy their infrastructure. So it is still not over but as we speak the ceasefire is still intact,” he said.

Singh described India’s May 10 attack on Pakistan’s Nur Khan Airbase as pivotal. “It created panic in Pakistan and their DGMO reached out to their Indian counterpart seeking a ceasefire,” he stated.

India Suspends Indus Water Treaty Over 'Broken Trust'

On Pakistan’s protest against India’s suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), Singh was blunt, stating, "IWT was signed in 1960 and the preamble of the treaty includes two key words - goodwill and friendship... Over the past so many years what we have seen (is that) we were allowing water to flow and what was Pakistan doing - they were allowing terror (attacks) to come on the Indian side."

He justified India’s move saying, "There was a lot of frustration among people that this cannot go on like this. Our Prime Minister said that blood and water cannot flow together and that is the reason that we decided to put this IWT in abeyance."

"Terror must stop" for a treaty like IWT to be operational, and “While IWT is in abeyance, another IWT is operational - Operation Sindoor is India’s War Against Terrorism,” he added.

Demand to Hand Over Terror Leaders: 'Just Like the US Did'

The Indian envoy demanded that Pakistan extradite terror masterminds Hafiz Saeed, Sajid Mir, and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, referencing the recent US extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

"They need to do a very simple thing - when the preamble includes goodwill and friendship, they just need to hand over these terrorists to us," Singh stated.

"When the US can hand over these culprits, why can't Pakistan hand over? They have to simply hand over Hafeez Saeed, Lakhvi, Sajid Mir and things will be over," he said.

India Dismisses Pakistan's Offer to Probe Pahalgam Attack

On Islamabad's proposal to investigate the Pahalgam incident, Singh called it a distraction. “What has happened to the Mumbai attack? What has happened to the Pathankot air base attack? What has happened to the Pulwama attack?" he said.

“We have given them dossiers after dossiers — we have given them technical inputs. America has shared with them evidence. Everything is there but what have they done?" he added.

He highlighted that top accused remain free. “Lakhvi, who was the main planner of the Mumbai attack, is still roaming freely. Hafiz Saeed, the head of Lashkar-e-Taiba, planner and executioner of the Mumbai attack is roaming freely. So we can't believe them.”

India Calls for International Coalition Against Terrorism

Calling terrorism a “global menace,” Singh urged like-minded countries to unite.

“At an international level all those countries including India, Israel and many other countries that face the brunt of terrorism, we need to expand our diplomatic reach, we need to cooperate, we need to form a coalition against terrorism and most importantly against the supporters of these terrorist groups,” he said.

“Our Prime Minister has made it very clear — very clear — that we have zero tolerance on terrorism. We are not going to accept this cross-border terrorism,” he concluded.