"The blood of Indians is boiling," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday as he sent out a stern warning to Pakistan, declaring that the "guardians" of the perpetrators of the Pulwama terror attack will be "definitely punished" with a "strong reply".
Modi said the terrorist organisations and their "guardians" have committed a "grave mistake" and that the security forces have been given "complete freedom" to act.
He was speaking at an event here after chairing a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which decided on a number of steps, including withdrawing the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status granted unilaterally to Pakistan.
Pakistan is making a "big mistake" by thinking that it can destabilise India "through its tactics and conspiracies", the Prime Minister said while paying homage to the CRPF personnel who lost their lives in the Pulwama attack yesterday.
"I want to tell terrorist organisations and their guardians that they have committed a grave mistake. Those behind the attack will be definitely punished for their actions...The blood of Indians is boiling... A strong reply will be give to this attack," Modi said here while flagging off the Delhi-Varanasi high-speed Vande Bharat Express train.
After the attack, Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit claimed responsibility for it, saying it was carried out by a suicide bomber.
"If our neighbour, which is totally isolated in the world, thinks it can destabilise India through its tactics and conspiracies, then it is making a big mistake. Its plans will never succeed, they will not be allowed to succeed," the Prime Minister asserted.
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The Prime Minister also appealed to leaders of parties not to make political comments at this "sensitive and emotional time".
"I understand the emotions of those who are criticising us. They have full right to do so. But I request all my friends that it is a sensitive and emotional time. So stay away from political comments. A message that the whole country is unitedly fighting against this attack will go across the world," Modi said.
He urged the international community to unite to wipe out the scourge of terrorism and isolate those responsible for the menace.
The Prime Minister also thanked the countries which have supported India and condemned this incident in the strongest of terms.
Modi, who was accompanied by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, observed a two-minute silence in memory of the para-military force personnel before flagging-off the train.
Earlier, the Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the CCS to discuss the situation in the wake of the attack.
"Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan stands withdrawn," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said after the meeting which was also attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
India had granted MFN status to Pakistan in 1996, a year after the formation of World Trade Organisation (WTO), but Pakistan never accorded the same status to India.
India will also make all possible efforts to ensure "complete isolation" of Pakistan in the international community and work for early adoption of the long-pending Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), which is pending before the United Nations, Jaitley said.
Modi also cancelled all scheduled political engagements in Madhya Pradesh's Itarsi and Dhar in the wake of the terror strike.
The CRPF personnel were killed when their convoy was targeted on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Thursday.The convoy comprised 78 buses in which around 2500 personnel were travelling from Jammu to Srinagar.