Ajit Doval Reveals PM Modi’s First Question After Pahalgam Attack: ‘Who Has Done It?’ What Happened at the Airport

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has offered a rare glimpse into the decision-making that followed the Pahalgam terror attack, recalling the first question Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked immediately after returning to India.

Doval’s remarks are featured in an upcoming Discovery documentary centred on Operation Sindoor, which brings together accounts from senior political, military and security officials involved in the response to the April 2025 attack.

According to Doval, Modi cut short his foreign visit and returned to India before meeting senior officials at the airport. The Prime Minister, he said, first wanted the facts established.

“First, he wanted to know all the facts. And then his first question to me was, who has done it? Who is responsible?” Doval recalled.

The remark captures the immediate focus of the government following the attack: identifying the perpetrators and establishing responsibility before deciding on the nature of India’s response.

‘Who Is Responsible?’ — Doval Recalls Modi’s Airport Meeting

Doval said the Prime Minister met officials shortly after landing in India. The Foreign Secretary was present to receive him, following which a meeting was held at the airport itself.

Rather than immediately discussing the nature of a military response, Modi first sought clarity about what had happened and who was behind it.

Doval said India’s intelligence agencies subsequently worked to establish the identities and links of those responsible.

“Thanks to our intelligence agencies, I think they did a brilliant job,” Doval said, describing how authorities were able to reach a conclusion in a relatively short period.

The account provides an inside view of the sequence of events that eventually led to Operation Sindoor, India’s military response to the Pahalgam massacre.

Doval’s Warning: ‘We Will Go After Them’

In another part of the documentary, Doval spoke about India’s determination to pursue those responsible regardless of where they were located.

“We will go after them. Whether they are on land, sky or even hell. Wherever they are, we will not forgive,” he said.

The statement reflects the tougher counter-terrorism posture adopted by the Indian government following the Pahalgam attack.

On April 22, 2025, terrorists attacked tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 civilians. The attack triggered widespread outrage across India and heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.

The Indian government subsequently announced a series of measures and prepared a military response.

What Did Modi Mean by ‘Operation Sindoor Is Alive’?

Doval also explained the significance of Modi’s repeated assertion that Operation Sindoor remained “alive”.

According to the NSA, the Prime Minister’s message was that India’s campaign against terrorism would not be considered over simply because one military operation had ended.

Doval said Modi’s intention was that the fight would continue until the terrorist threat was eliminated.

The statement comes against the backdrop of India’s declared objective of targeting terror infrastructure and those involved in planning and supporting attacks against the country.

India Launches Operation Sindoor

On the night of May 6–7, 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor, striking identified terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The Press Information Bureau said the operation was conceived to punish the perpetrators and planners of the Pahalgam attack and destroy terror infrastructure across the border.

The operation marked a significant escalation in India-Pakistan tensions. According to the Indian government’s account, the strikes targeted terror infrastructure associated with groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen.

Prime Minister Modi later told Parliament that the operation targeted what he described as the “nerve centre” of the terrorist infrastructure linked to the Pahalgam attack. He also said the armed forces had been given operational freedom to determine the timing, location and manner of the response.

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The first anniversary of Operation Sindoor in May 2026 was also marked by the Indian Army, which described the campaign as a calibrated and precise response aimed at safeguarding India’s sovereignty and its people.

‘Blood and Water Cannot Flow Together’

In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, Modi also delivered a sharp message to Pakistan by saying that “blood and water cannot flow together”, referring to India’s decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.

The Prime Minister later reiterated that India’s response was not simply about retaliation but about dismantling the infrastructure that supports terrorism.

The government’s account says the April 22 attack marked a major turning point in India’s counter-terrorism policy, with the subsequent military operation designed to demonstrate that terrorist infrastructure across the border could be directly targeted.

A Rare Look Inside India’s Decision-Making

Doval’s account is significant because senior security officials rarely discuss the moments immediately preceding major military decisions in such detail.

His recollection of Modi’s first question — “Who has done it? Who is responsible?” — provides a glimpse into how the government says it approached the crisis: first establishing the facts and identifying the perpetrators, followed by a decision on how India would respond.

With the Operation Sindoor documentary bringing together accounts from officials involved in the operation, more details about the planning, intelligence gathering and military decision-making behind India’s response are expected to emerge.

For now, Doval’s recollection offers a striking snapshot of the hours after Pahalgam — when, according to him, the Prime Minister’s immediate priority was to establish exactly who was responsible.