Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a strong warning to Pakistan from the ramparts of Red Fort on Independence Day 2025. “India has decided that it will not tolerate nuclear threats anymore, we won’t fall for any blackmail,” PM Modi said.
His remarks came in response to Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir’s recent nuclear threat against India.
Field Marshal Asim Munir was quoted by The Print as saying, “We are a nuclear nation; if we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us.”
Praise for armed forces in Operation Sindoor
During his speech, PM Modi hailed the bravery of the Indian armed forces during Operation Sindoor, which was launched in response to the terror attack by Pakistan-backed terrorists in Pahalgam on 22 April.
He said the armed forces punished the enemy “in ways beyond imagination.” He further added, “Destruction inflicted by our armed forces in Pakistan was so widespread, new revelations are being made every day.”
“I salute our bravehearts who carried out Operation Sindoor. The terrorists carried out bloodshed, so we punished our enemies. India was furious after Pahalgam,” he said.
Highlighting the significance of the day, PM Modi called it “a festival of 140 crore resolutions.”
PM Modi on Indus Waters Treaty
On the Indus Waters Treaty, PM Modi said it had caused enormous harm to agriculture in India. He stressed that the recent attack in Pahalgam underscored the futility of continuing the agreement. “India has decided that blood and water cannot flow together,” the Prime Minister said, accusing the treaty of allowing rivers that rise in India to “irrigate the fields of our enemies, while the soil of my country and the farmers of my country remain thirsty.”
On Tuesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned that any attempt to block the flow of water into Pakistan would violate the Indus Waters Treaty and would be met with a “decisive response.”
His remarks came just a day after former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari issued a similar warning, calling the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty an assault on the Indus Valley Civilisation.
PM Modi hoisted the National Flag at Red Fort on Friday, synchronised with the 21-Gun Salute by the valiant gunners of the 1721 Field Battery (Ceremonial). The theme of this year’s celebration is ‘Naya Bharat,’ reflecting the government’s vision of achieving ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.