Operation SINDOOR

Operation SINDOOR

1. On 22 April, Pakistan based terrorist group “The Resistance Front” (TRF) perpetrated a devastating attack in Pahalgam, India.  In this attack 26 innocent tourists were killed in cold blood after segregating them based on their religion.  TRF is an offshoot of the well known Pakistan backed terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba.  Post the attack, TRF claimed the responsibility for this attack not once but twice within a few hours.  Pakistan’s subsequent refusal to acknowledge or curb these terrorist networks compelled India to take a responsible but resolute action. In response, on  the night of 7–8 May 2025, the Government of India executed “Operation Sindoor,”.  The response was non escalatory, precise and targeted terrorist training camps at nine different locations within Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.  No military targets were engaged.  However, in the early hours of 8 May, Pakistan, in an escalated response launched coordinated drone and missile strikes targeting over a dozen Indian military installations across the Northern and Western theatres, including Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bathinda and Bhuj. India’s robust Integrated Counter-drone Grid and layered Air Defence systems intercepted these attacks, recovering debris conclusively traced to Pakistani origin.

2. Following these provocations, India conducted precision strikes against Pakistani Air Defence systems at a number of locations in Pakistan.   These strikes were deliberately confined to the neutralization of systems that had facilitated the earlier Pakistani assault and were executed under the guiding principle of “equal intensity in the same domain.” By targeting only those installations directly involved in the aggression, India balanced the imperative of deterrence with its overarching commitment to de-escalation. Concurrently, along the Line of Control in Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan escalated to unprovoked mortar and heavy-calibre artillery fire into civilian areas in which sixteen innocent lives were lost, including three women and five children.  Here too, India was compelled to respond in equal proportion with mortar and artillery fire.  Indian Armed forces reiterate their commitment to non-escalation, however, any attempts by Pakistan to escalate will be responded firmly. 

3. India’s strategic calculus in Operation Sindoor was informed by an unwavering objective: to uphold national sovereignty and protect civilian lives without precipitating a broader military conflagration. By confining military action to terrorist infrastructure, India underscored its non-escalatory posture and respect for established international norms. Pakistan’s reputation as the epicentre of global terrorism is rooted in a number of instances, there are several terrorist attacks around the world where Pakistani fingerprints have been found. Earlier in pursuit of justice for the victims of terrorist attack be it Mumbai in 2008, Pathankot in 2016, Pulwama in 2019 or many others, India provided forensic evidence and urged Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice.  India has also submitted an updated dossier to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee, documenting Pakistan’s complicity in sheltering and abetting designated terrorist operatives.

4. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s repeated stone-walling of joint investigative teams despite India’s full cooperation in forensic, call-data and on-site evidence sharing for Mumbai 2008 and Pathankot 2016 probes reveals that its calls for new “joint investigations” are nothing more than delaying tactics. In these circumstances, India has also placed the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance: demographic changes, evolving climate realities and several such factors have led to fundamental changes in the circumstances in which the treaty was concluded.  Constant refusal of Pakistan for Government to Government negotiations to discuss the modifications is itself a ‘Violation of the Treaty’ and a breach of its spirit of “goodwill and friendship”.

5. Operation Sindoor is a principle-driven military response underpinned by strategic restraint.  It was in response to a barbaric terrorist attack on innocent tourists which originated from Pakistan. India had a right to response which it did, in a responsible, restrained, measured and a non-escalatory manner.