Shiromani Akali Dal supremo Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his strong and clear-headed approach in dealing with the "enemies of peace" across the border.
Mr Badal congratulated the country's people, especially personnel of the armed forces, on inflicting a crushing defeat on terrorists and their sponsors in Pakistan.
In a statement, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief praised PM Modi for his statesmanlike diplomatic handling of the situation after forcing the Pakistan Army leadership to "run for cover to Washington to beg for a ceasefire".
"After the decisive victory on the battlefield, the prime minister acted as a statesman in accepting their request for cessation of hostilities. Peace after victory is the most honourable course to follow," Mr Badal said.
The Shiromani Akali Dal was earlier a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Mr Badal also condemned the politicians criticising the agreement to stop the hostilities and indulging in warmongering, saying, "These politicians are those who have never witnessed the damage inflicted by war and watch it on their television screens in their drawing rooms. These people are the real enemies of the nation." Asserting that Punjab would have borne the brunt of war in case it had continued for a longer period, the former Punjab deputy chief minister said a large proportion of India's population lived in border areas.
Highly populous cities are also situated close to the border, he added. "In case of a full-blown war, we would have witnessed unprecedented destruction of both life and property. This has been thankfully averted by putting a swift end to the hostilities following Operation Sindoor." Mr Badal said Pakistan had tried its best to sow seeds of hatred in the hearts and minds of Sikhs by claiming India was targeting Nankana Sahib but the Sikh community resolutely rejected such falsities.
He said the community did not want war and was thankful to the central government for acting in theirs and the nation's best interests.
India and Pakistan reached an agreement on May 10 to halt military actions after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
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