Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday visited Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch region to meet people living in the bordering villages who were severely affected by cross-border shelling during the recent heightened security crisis between India and Pakistan.

To help the affected families, the Minister also distributed job appointment letters to the next of kin of civilians killed during the attacks.

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“Pakistan targeted the civilian areas in Jammu and Kashmir, and Poonch suffered the most damage. For the first time, firing was done on Poonch post-independence. The entire world is condemning the attack by Pakistan. The Indian Armed Forces gave a befitting reply by destroying nine Pakistani air bases, and as a result, they had to come forward for a ceasefire,” he told people while interacting with them.

Talking about India’s Operation Sindoor, the Minister said that on the night of May 7, 2025, the Indian Armed Forces conducted a decisive operation, destroying terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

It was India’s “befitting reply” to terrorists who killed hundreds of people.

“On the night of May 7, we destroyed the terrorist sites in Pakistan and PoK. This was a befitting reply given to terrorists on behalf of the crores of Indians. Hundreds of terrorists were killed in the operation. We launched an attack on terrorists, but Pakistan considered it an attack on itself. They showed the world that they are the ones who are sheltering terrorists,” he added.

” We have sent a message that India will not tolerate any attack on innocent civilians, Indian Armed Forces, and every attack will be responded to with more precision and accuracy,” the minister said.

During the visit, Shah also interacted with Border Security Force (BSF) personnel at their Unit Headquarters in Khanetar, praising their role in Operation Sindoor. He also travelled to religious sites damaged in the shelling, and reviewed the security situation ahead of the annual Amarnath Yatra.

The Union Home Minister’s visit followed the unprovoked Pakistani shelling in the civilian areas of Jammu and Kashmir post Operation Sindoor, conducted in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.