New Delhi | India on Sunday said it inflicted tremendous losses to the Pakistan military, including downing its fighter jets featuring latest technologies and damaging key military installations close to even capital Islamabad, during the three-day confrontation between the two sides.
Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said 35-40 Pakistani military personnel were killed in the combat and New Delhi achieved its desired objectives and that Pakistan will have to pay a very heavy price if it resorts to any misadventure.
At a media briefing, senior military officials of the Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy provided details of Operation Sindoor, including how India repelled Pakistani attempts to target Indian military installations and civilian areas.
To a question, Air Marshal AK Bharti said India definitely downed a few Pakistani planes but refused to hazard a guess on the numbers.
"Their planes were prevented from coming inside our border. So we do not have the wreckage with us but definitely we have downed a few planes," he said.
Asked about reports in the foreign media of losses of Indian fighter jets, Air Marshal Bharati said, "We are in a combat situation and losses are part of combat."
"All I can say is that we have achieved our objectives that we selected and all our pilots are back home," he said.
DGMO Lt Gen Ghai also paid tribute to five Indian fallen heroes and civilians who "tragically lost their lives" during Operation Sindoor.
"We have thus far exercised immense restraint and our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory. However, any threat to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and safety of our citizens will be met with decisive force," he said.
On losses to the Pakistani military, the DGMO said there are reports of 35-40 fatalities.
The DGMO said it was his Pakistani counterpart who made a call to him last afternoon, requesting a way out to stop the hostilities.
The two DGMOs on Saturday afternoon agreed to stop all firing and military action on land and in the air and sea with effect from 1700 hours Indian Standard Time.
The Indian military suggested that the Pakistani DGMO's call came after Indian Armed Forces launched a fierce counter-attack on several Pakistani military installations including Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian on Saturday morning.
The strikes were launched after the Pakistan military attempted to target major Indian military installations on the night of May 9-10.
Lt Gen Ghai said over 100 terrorists, including high-value targets such as Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed, who were involved in the hijacking of IC 814 and the Pulwama blast, were eliminated during Operation Sindoor on May 7.
Nine terror targets were identified after careful deliberations and they were hit using precision weapons, he said.
Operation Sindoor was launched on early May 7 to destroy nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack. All subsequent retaliations to Pakistani offensives were carried out under Operation Sindoor.
New Delhi | The Indian armed forces carried out "careful scrutiny" of the nine cross-border terror camps down to their layouts and configurations and terrains around them before conducting the precision strikes on them on May 7 under Operation Sindoor, Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said on Sunday.
"I have no doubt in my mind that we achieved total surprise and those strikes across those nine terror hubs left more than 100 terrorists killed, including high-value targets," the top Army officer said during a media briefing here.
Aerial images of some of the camps, taken before and after the strike, were also shown on a large screen during the briefing that came a day after India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea with immediate effect after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries teetering on the edge of full scale war.
Directors general of military operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan agreed on the understanding during a call on May 10 afternoon.
Operation Sindoor was launched early May 7 to destroy nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. All subsequent retaliations to Pakistani offensives were carried out under this operation.
"You are now familiar with the brutality and the dastardly manner in which 26 lives were prematurely terminated at Pahalgam on April 22. When you combine those horrific scenes and the pain of the families the nation witnessed, with numerous other terrorist strikes on our armed forces, and defenceless civilians, we knew that the time had arrived to make yet another compelling statement of our resolve as a nation," the DGMO said.
Operation Sindoor was conceptualised with a clear military aim to "punish the perpetrators and planners" of terror and to destroy their terror infrastructure, he said.
"What I do not state here, of course, is the often stated determination of India and its intolerance to terror. It sent into motion, a very diligent and microscopic scarring of the terror landscape across the borders and the identification of terror camps and training sites," Lt Gen Ghai said.
The Army officer said the locations that emerged were "numerous", but as "we deliberated more, we realised that some of these terror hubs were now bereft of any presence and preemptively been vacated fearing retribution from us".
There was also a "term of reference and our own binding self-imposed restrictions" to target only terrorists, and thus "prevent collateral damage", he added.
"There were nine camps that you are now all familiar with, which were confirmed by our various intelligence agencies, to be inhabited. Some of these were in PoJK (Pakistan-occupied-Jammu & Kashmir), while there were others which were located in Punjab province in Pakistan," Lt Gen Ghai said.
Nefarious places such as Muridke, the hub centre of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, has over the years spread infamous characters such as Ajmal Kasab and the likes of David Headley, he underlined.
"What followed was a careful scrutiny of each of these sinister locations, their layout, configuration, even the type of construction in each structure and the terrain obtained around these. This was with an obvious intent to deduce and identify exact vector that was required for their neutralisation, as also the eyes in the sky that we would send up to ensure that we brought back evidence that we had indeed targeted what we set out to," the DGMO asserted.
The precise images of these engagements on that "fateful and historical night" have already been showcased during the first statement on May 7 that was helmed by the foreign secretary, he said.
"I have no doubt in my mind that we achieved total surprise and those strikes across those nine terror hubs left more than 100 terrorists killed, including high-value targets such as Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed, who were involved in the hijack of IC814 and the Pulwama blast," the DGMO told reporters.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) played a "major role" in these strikes by engaging some of these camps and the Indian Navy "provided wherewithal in terms of precision munition".
Director General of Air Operations, IAF, Air Marshal AK Bharti, also addressed the media on the role of the IAF in Operation Sindoor.
"We carefully selected the targets and out of the nine selected targets, the target systems that were given to the IAF, were the notorious training camps at Bahawalpur and Muridke," he said.
Under Operation Sindoor, the Indian military targeted Markaz Taiba of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Muridke, Markaz Subhan Allah of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Bahawalpur, Hizbul Mujahideen's Mehmoona Joya Facility in Sialkot and the LeT's base in Markaz Ahle Hadith in Barnala and its camp in Muzaffarabad's Shawai Nalla, military officials said.
New Delhi | India has called Pakistan's nuclear bluff with Operation Sindoor and sent a psychological message to state-sponsored terrorists: nobody is untouchable and no place in Pakistan is safe for you, government sources said on Sunday.
India has also set a "new normal" in response to Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism through the operation and Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed the armed forces that Indian retaliation to any action by the Pakistani military should be "bigger and stronger", they said.
"Wahan se goli chalegi, toh yahan se gola chalega (If they fire bullets, we will respond with cannons)," one of the sources quoted PM Modi as saying following the Pakistani actions.
Operation Sindoor is not concluded yet and the cost of cross-border terrorism will be raised as Pakistan can't continue with terrorism while expecting cooperation in areas of its choosing, the sources said.
When asked whether Operation Sindoor managed to fulfil the prime minister's instructions, a senior government source said, "Markaz ko mitti mei mila diya hai; age ka bhi dekhenge".
He was referring to precision strikes on nine terrorist training sites and headquarters on the early morning of May 7.
Asked how many more terror centres remain in Pakistan, another source posed a counter question: How big is Pakistan, implying the country is a hotbed of terrorism.
The sources also emphasised that the confrontation never reached the stage of a nuclear conflict which has been the greatest fear and threat used by Pakistan, whose military is vastly smaller than India's.
However, the nuclear deterrence has given it some amount of parity, they said.
"We have called their nuclear deterrence bluff. We take the nuclear threat seriously, but it cannot serve as cover for Pakistan to come and do terrorism in our country," said a senior source.
"The new normal is that the Line of Control will not protect you; the international border will not protect you; the nuclear threat will not protect you," the source said.
"The message that has been sent is that no matter where you are in Pakistan, we will hit you. On this occasion, we have gone after the head of the snake and not foot soldiers," it said.
The sources said Indian action demonstrated its new approach to kill terrorists within Pakistan.
"It showed our approach of 'ghar me ghus ke marenge' (kill them within their home)," said a source.
India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure early on May 7, following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10.
The Pakistani actions were strongly responded to by the Indian side by inflicting heavy damage to a number of key Pakistani military installations, including air bases, air defence systems, command and control centres and radar sites.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Saturday evening announced that India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect.
"The actions taken by India are aimed at creating and setting a new normal in the relationship with Pakistan.
"Pakistan and the world will have to get used to this new normal because India has had enough," said a source.
The sources said that India will never accept mediation in the Kashmir issue and the only matter to discuss is Pakistan returning the territory which is under its illegal occupation.
They made it clear that the Indus Waters Treaty will be in abeyance as long as terrorism sponsored by Pakistan against India continues.
"The cost of terrorism has increased. The Indus Waters Treaty is linked to cross-border terrorism and it will be held in abeyance as long as terrorism from Pakistan continues," the source cited above said.
The sources said when Pakistan tried to attack Udhampur, the response was what the prime minister had promised and eight Pakistani air bases were demolished.
Pakistan changed its tune immediately after India hit their air bases, the sources said, adding the next morning, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to say Pakistan has understood.
India's position after the May 7 strikes on terror infrastructure was that if Pakistan fires, India will respond more forcefully, they said.
After the Pahalgam attack, India had told countries that reached out to New Delhi it would hit terror infrastructure in Pakistan territories.
At the height of the conflict, PM Modi told US Vice President J D Vance that "if Pakistan does anything, our response will be very very strong", the source said.
In a related development, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi has given full authority to the Army commanders for counter-action in the kinetic domain to any violation of the understanding reached between the Indian and Pakistani militaries.
"Consequent to the ceasefire and airspace violations on the night of May 10-11, the Chief of Army Staff reviewed the security situation with the Army Commanders of the Western Borders," the Army said.
The Army Chief "has granted full authority to the Army Commanders for counteraction in the kinetic domain to any violation of the understanding reached vide the DGMO talks of May 10," it said.
New Delhi | Indian Navy's carrier battle group, submarines and aviation assets were immediately deployed at sea with full combat readiness in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, a top Navy official said on Sunday.
The naval forces remained forward deployed in the northern Arabian sea in a "dissuasive and deterrent" posture, with full readiness to strike select targets at sea, and on land, including Karachi, at a time of our choosing, Director General of Naval Operations, Vice Admiral A N Pramod, said.
The Vice Admiral was addressing a press conference along with his counterparts from the Army and the Indian Air Force on India's 'Operation Sindoor'.
The Director General of Naval Operations (DGNO) said the Navy tested and refined tactics and procedures at sea during multiple weapon firings in the Arabian Sea, within 96 hours of the terrorist attack.
"The aim was to revalidate our crew, armament, equipment and platform readiness to deliver various ordnance on selected targets precisely," he added.
The DGNO said the carrier battle group was deployed in the Arabian Sea following the terror attack that killed 26 civilians on April 22.
A carrier battle group is a naval fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier and its accompanying ships.
Vice Admiral Pramod said the forward deployment of the Indian Navy compelled Pakistani naval and air units to be in a defensive posture, mostly inside harbours or very close to their coast.
"The Indian Navy maintained seamless maritime domain awareness throughout the duration and was entirely aware of the location and movement of Pakistani units," he said.
"In effect, we had, and continue to have, good battlespace transparency, using our maritime domain awareness grid," he said.
"Under India's calibrated approach, we considered all options, including the ability of the Indian Navy for offensive action from and at sea," the DGNO said.
"As part of the escalation control mechanism, the application of force by the Navy was planned in a synchronised manner in concert with the Army and the Air Force, the highlight being teams from the three services working closely in an integrated manner," he added.
"Along with kinetic actions by the Indian Army and Indian Air Force, the overwhelming operational edge of the Indian Navy at sea contributed towards Pakistan's urgent request for a ceasefire yesterday," Vice Admiral Pramod said.
The India Navy remains deployed at sea in a credible deterrent posture to respond decisively to any inimical action by Pakistan, or Pakistan-based terrorists, he added.
India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure early on May 7 following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10.
The Pakistani actions were strongly responded to by the Indian side by inflicting heavy damages to a number of key Pakistani military installations, including air bases, air defence systems, command and control centres and radar sites.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Saturday evening announced that India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect.
