In 138th Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister says operation demonstrated India’s counter-terrorism policy and recalls victims of major terror attacks
New Delhi, Sept 2026 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday recalled the 2016 surgical strike against terrorist hideouts across the Line of Control (LoC), describing it as a decisive response to years of terror attacks and an example of India’s counter-terrorism policy.
Addressing the 138th episode of his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, Modi said the surgical strike would complete 10 years on September 28-29. He said the Indian Army had crossed the LoC during the operation and targeted terrorist hideouts in Pakistan.
Modi said the operation demonstrated India’s resolve to respond to terrorism. He also referred to subsequent military actions, saying that over the past decade, India had repeatedly conveyed that terrorist attacks would invite a strong response.
“Ten years ago, on September 28-29, 2016, the Indian Army carried out a surgical strike on terrorist hideouts in Pakistan,” Modi said, adding that the operation showed the world a new example of India’s counter-terrorism policy.
The Prime Minister recalled the impact of major terrorist attacks on India, including the serial blasts in Delhi on September 13, 2008, and the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai later that year. He said there had been a period when serial blasts had become a recurring feature and argued that the country’s approach to terrorism had since changed.
Modi said India was now following a “zero-tolerance policy” towards terrorism and that the country was witnessing the results of this approach. He also referred to the Balakot air strike and Operation Sindoor while discussing India’s responses to terrorism over the past decade.
The Prime Minister also recalled the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, which marked their 25th anniversary this year. He noted that Indian nationals were among those killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Modi recalled his visit to the United States in 2014, after becoming Prime Minister, when he paid tribute in New York to Indian civilians who lost their lives in the attacks. He also expressed his condolences to the families of those affected by the tragedy.
The Prime Minister said India’s long experience with terrorism had reinforced the need for a sustained approach to confronting the threat. His remarks came a day before the 10th anniversary of the 2016 surgical strike, which remains a significant episode in India’s counter-terrorism narrative.
The Mann Ki Baat episode also covered several other subjects, including the ongoing Census exercise, the birth centenary of former Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal, the government’s campaign against drug abuse and initiatives related to nutrition.
Modi said more than 32 crore families had already been covered in the first phase of the Census and noted that enumeration was continuing in remote and snow-covered areas of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
