Srinagar, May 25 : Jammu and Kashmir Lt. Governor, Manoj Sinha, has asserted that the punishment for terrorists and their sympathisers should be the same.

While laying the foundation stone for a guest house at the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar city on Saturday, the Lt Governor appealed to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to ensure that elements aiding and abetting terrorists are uprooted from the society.

"We need to strike hard at the terror ecosystem. Terrorists' aides should be identified, and they should be given the same punishment as terrorists for inflicting wounds on the soul of Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

"Operation Sindoor avenged the murder of innocent civilians, and we avenged the terror attack by punishing the 'terror state of Pakistan'," the L-G said.

"This has enforced our zero tolerance to terrorism. Brave soldiers of our armed forces have not only destroyed the terror factories deep inside Pakistan, but have also drawn a new red line. Now any terror attack will be considered an act of war and Pakistan will be given the harshest punishment for it," he asserted.

L-G Sinha added that the kind of protests seen in Jammu and Kashmir against Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack were historic.

"The Valley echoed with slogans against terrorism," he said.

The Lt. Governor called for collective efforts to foster the spirit of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' and promote unity across communities.

"I appeal to those in positions of responsibility in Jammu and Kashmir to stop using terms like local and non-local. We are all Indians. Stop dividing Indians into locals and outsiders. You should work to unite people so that a united society can take Jammu and Kashmir to greater heights of growth," he advised.

It must be mentioned that among the many previous governors and the Lt governors, Manoj Sinha is the first constitutional head of Jammu and Kashmir who speaks of a holistic approach to tackle terrorism.

He always speaks of eradicating the terror ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir, and not just the number approach to dealing with terrorism by counting the number of terrorists killed.

According to Manoj Sinha, the country's war is against the terror ecosystem, which includes the terrorists, their over ground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers.

The three offshoots of terrorism are complementary/supplementary to each other, and one cannot be finished without weeding out the other two.

In all review/security meetings he heads, Manoj Sinha always talks of dealing with the terror ecosystem as the main tree whose branches are terrorists, their OGWs and sympathisers.

/IANS