'Why state funerals if only civilians killed?': Foreign Secretary tears into Pakistan in 2nd briefing after Op Sindoor 

India has strongly countered Pakistan's claim that only civilians were killed in the precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, pointing to the nature of funerals held for the dead at Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Muridke compound. 

In a second briefing after Operation Sindoor, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri questioned Pakistan's narrative, citing visuals of serving Pakistan Army officers participating in ceremonial funerals of those killed at the Lashkar camp.

"All attacks were against carefully selected terrorist targets. If only civilians were killed, I wonder what message this picture (army joining funerals of terrorists killed in Muridke) actually sends," Misri said. "It's also odd that the funerals of civilians are carried out with coffins draped in their national flag, and state honours are being accorded. The individuals eliminated at these facilities were terrorists. Giving state funerals to terrorists may be a practice in Pakistan, but it doesn't seem to make much sense to us."

His comments came a day after the emergence of a video showing Pakistan Army personnel alongside top LeT commander Abdul Rauf at a funeral in Muridke — a site hit in the Indian Air Force's pre-dawn precision strike. The video, which surfaced hours after India truck terror infrastructures, shows army personnel participating in the burial of key figures eliminated in the strike.

The Lashkar compound at Muridke, located about 30 km from Lahore, is a known hub of extremist activity and the ideological nerve centre of the LeT. It is where Ajmal Kasab and the other 26/11 attackers were trained. The site has hosted top terror planners including David Headley and Tahawwur Rana, and was directly funded by Osama Bin Laden with a Rs 10 lakh donation in 2000.

At the time of the strike, the compound housed several operatives involved in cross-border terrorism, with training facilities, guesthouses and a mosque all located within the Markaz Taiba complex. The same site was used to train attackers involved in the 2008 Mumbai siege.

India’s airstrikes under Operation Sindoor also targeted Jaish-e-Mohammed's Subhanallah complex in Bahawalpur and other launchpads in PoK. The operation was launched in retaliation for the April 22 massacre in Pahalgam, which killed 25 civilians including tourists.

Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora reacted sharply to the army's involvement at the Muridke funeral: "Plotting. Assisting. Killing. Inciting. Shielding. Training. Arming. Nurturing. That’s what P-A-K-I-S-T-A-N really stands for. Even after 9/11, 26/11, Abbottabad & now #Pahalgam, how much more proof does the world need?"

Issuing a direct warning, the foreign secretary today said that now if there is an attempt at further escalation by Pakistan, it will be responded to in an appropriate domain and therefore the choices entirely that of Pakistan to make.