India has struck terror at its core; further escalation by Pakistan will have fierce, punitive action: Armed Forces

New Delhi, May 11

India’s Armed Forces – the Army, Navy and Air Force — had launched a coordinated, precise and lethal operation targeting specifically terrorist strongholds in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) delivering a sharp rebuke to a deadly attack that killed 26 civilians last month.

Video Credit: PTI

Dubbed Operation Sindoor, the campaign neutralised nine terror camps with precision strikes, only to face swift Pakistani retaliation through airspace violations and border skirmishes; which “were effectively thwarted,” Lt General Rajiv Ghai, DGMO of the Indian Army, said on Sunday.

The Chief of Army Staff has already carried out a “security review” and has authorised the Army commanders “to deem violations of any kind from across the borders, in a manner that seem fit,” he said, indicating clearly that the Armed Forces remain on high guard and will take retaliatory action if Pakistan chooses to violate any understanding and ups hostilities.

India and its nuclear-armed neighbour had reached an understanding to stop hostilities for the time being , and a DGMO level meeting was planned on May 12, 1200 hours.

Any attempt at escalation of hostilities, by Pakistan, “will be fierce and punitive”, Ghai said.

“…the cost escalation, I mean, I’ll leave it to your best imagination. I’ve already said that the response will be fierce and punitive,” he said.

Joint ops

Operation Sindoor, parts of which were detailed out, in a rare joint press briefing by India’s top military brass, was sparked by an April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, attributable to Pakistan-backed terrorists.

On May 7, Indian forces executed meticulously planned strikes, obliterating nine camps and killing over 100 terrorists, including “high-value targets”.

Air Marshal AK Bharti, currently DGAO of the Indian Air Force (IAF), showcased imagery of devastated targets in Muridke and Bahawalpur – two notorious terrorist camp and indoctrination centres with one of them being linked to noted terror outfit Jaish – e – Mohammed (JeM) – being struck with precision-guided munitions to minimize civilian casualties.

“Our aim was to annihilate terror infrastructure, not escalate a broader conflict,” he said clearly pointing out that India did not aim for civilian establishments or military infrastructure.

Pakistan’s retaliation and India’s riposte

Pakistan’s response was immediate and erratic. Starting May 7, its forces violated the Line of Control (LoC) and launched “waves of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) targeting Indian civilian and military sites, from North to Western border areas.

However, India’s robust air defence mechanism neutralised most threats, with minimal damage reported, Bharti said.

Post that, India retaliated with the Indian Air Force striking Pakistani radar installations near Lahore and Gujranwala, and later targeted airfields and command centres, including Chaklala in Islamabad, “in a calibrated fashion”.

The escalation came only after Pakistan refused to stop air-space violations and continue targeting civilian establishments and military infra.

“Pakistan targeted our civilians and infrastructure, forcing us to respond, ”Bharti said re-emphasising strikes were limited to military assets.

Video Credit: Businessline

“The difference here was, we had targeted the terrorists, (but) the adversary now has targeted our civilians and the military infrastructure. So it had to be responded to. So in a quick and calibrated response, we stuck their radar installations at Lahore and close to Gujanwala, to indicate them that we are ready, yet we do not want to escalate. Our fight was with the terrorists and not with the Pakistan military establishment,” Bharti explained.

Drone attacks continued on May 8 and May 9. But these were less numbers of armed UAVs. Mostly there were copters, “maybe for surveillance, or just for harassment of civilians.” Pakistan also used civil airlines and international carriers as a shield while launching their drone attacks; and India “exercised extreme caution, even at the cost of some tactical disadvantage to ensure that there is no damage to any of the civilian aircraft.”

“Following relentless attacks on our air bases, on our forward positions, and on our civilian targets…. this was time to convey some message to our adversaries. Therefore, a decision was taken to strike where it would hurt. And towards that a swift, coordinated, calibrated. attack. We stuck. His airbases, command centres, military infrastructure, air defence systems across the entire Western front,” DGMO Ghai said. One of the airbases struck was near Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.

Navy dominant presence

According to Vice Admiral AN Pramod, Director General of Naval Operations, India’s navy maintained a dominant presence in the Arabian Sea, confining Pakistani naval units to defensive positions and contributing to Islamabad’s request to de-escalate, made on May 10. Karachi was on the Navy’s observation too.

Navy assets were “immediately deployed at sea with full combat awareness”. Multiple weapon firings in the Arabian Sea were carried out to revalidate the crew, armament equipment and platform readiness.

“Thereafter, forces remained forward deployed into the Northern Arabian Sea in a decisive and deterrent posture with full readiness and capacity to strike, select targets at sea and on land, including Karachi at time of our choosing,” Pramod said adding that: “forward deployment of the Indian Navy compelled Pakistani naval and air units to be in a defensive posture, mostly inside harbours are very close to the coast, which we monitored continuously.”

The Indian Navy maintained seamless maritime domain awareness throughout the duration “and was entirely aware of the location and movement of Pakistani units”.

“Along with the kinetic actions by the Indian Army and Indian Air Force, the overwhelming operational edge of Indian Navy at sea, contributed towards Pakistan’s urgent request for a ceasefire yesterday. As we speak, Indian Navy remains deployed at sea in a credible deterrent posture to respond decisively to any inimical action by Pakistan or Pakistan based terrorists,” Pramod said.