A day after India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire agreement, the Indian Armed Forces addressed a joint press briefing on ‘Operation Sindoor’, giving details about the ‘precision strikes’ done in PoK, their modus operandi, terrorists killed, and the purpose behind the operation.
Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, claiming the lives of 26 people, including 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen.
Following the dastardly attack, the Indian Armed Forces, during the early hours of May 7, launched Operation Sindoor, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. After which, Pakistan launched a swarm of missiles and drones at several places in Indian territory.
Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai from the army, Air Marshal AK Bharti of the Indian Air Force, and Vice Admiral AN Pramod of the Indian Navy jointly addressed the press briefing.
During the press briefing, the DGMO said that the activities that have been going on for the last three to four days are no less than a war and added that under normal circumstances, the air forces of countries do not attack each other.
He said, “The activities that have been going on for the last 3-4 days are no less than a war. Under normal circumstances, the air forces of each other’s countries do not fly in the air and attack each other.”
“We have information that the Pakistani army may also be involved in infiltration across the Line of Control, which is trying to harm our posts,” DGMO Ghai added.
DGMO Ghai said that India has been compelled to be in this situation and added that India has a roadmap and a plan, which will be followed diligently.
“We have been compelled to be in this situation, and as you have seen, the armed forces of India, we are always prepared to face any eventuality… Whatever has to be done will be done. I am not concerned about what Pakistan will do; I am only concerned about what we will do. We have a roadmap and a plan, and we will follow it diligently,” he said.
Air Marshal AK Bharti shows the detailed video of the effects of India’s Air Operations at Pasrur Air Defence Radar, Chunian Air Defence Radar, Arifwala Air Defence Radar, Sargodha Airfield, Rahim Yar Khan Airfield, Chaklala Airfield (Nur Khan), Sukkur Airfield, Bholari Airfield, and Jacobabad Airfield as part of Operation Sindoor.
DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai says, “I pay my solemn homage to my five fallen colleagues and brothers from the armed forces and civilians who tragically lost their lives in Operation Sindoor. Our hearts go out to the bereaved families… Their sacrifices shall always be remembered,” the DGMO said.
“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 added.
Air Marshal AK Bharti says, “…Have we achieved our objectives of decimating the terrorist camps, and the answer is a thumping Yes, and the results are for the whole world to see.”
Vice Admiral AN Pramod said, “In the aftermath of the cowardly attacks on innocent tourists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani-sponsored terrorists on 22nd April, the Indian Navy’s Carrier battle group, surface forces, submarines and aviation assets were immediately deployed at sea with full combat readiness… We tested and refined tactics and procedures at sea during multiple weapon firings in the Arabian Sea within 96 hours of the terrorist attack.”
“Our forces remained forward deployed in 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 a time of our choosing. 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 the coast, which we monitored continuously,” he continued.
“Our response has been measured, proportionate, non-escalatory and responsible from day one… As we speak, the Indian Navy remains deployed at sea in a credible deterrent posture to respond decisively to any inimical action by Pakistan,” he added.
On being asked about how many Pakistani planes were downed, Air Marshal AK Bharti said, “Their planes were prevented from entering inside our border… Definitely, we have downed a few planes… Definitely, there are losses on their side which we have inflicted.”
In the press briefing, he added that all Indian pilots are back, “All I can say is that we have achieved our objectives that we selected and all our pilots are back home.”
DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai said, “Some of the air fields and dumps saw repeated attacks in waves from the air. All were thwarted. The Pakistan Army has reported to have lost approximately 35 to 40 personnel in artillery and small arms firing on the Line of Control between 7th and 10th May.”
Air Marshal AK Bharti said, “On the night of 8th and 9th, starting as early as 22:30 hours, our cities had a mass raid of drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, starting right from Srinagar going right up to Naliya… We were prepared, and our air defence preparedness ensured that there was no damage on the ground or to any of the intended targets that the enemy had planned for.”
He then informed about the response of India and said, “In a measured and calibrated response, we once again targeted the military installations, surveillance radar sites at Lahore and Gujranwala… Drone attacks continued till morning, which we countered. While the drone attacks were being launched from somewhere closer to Lahore, the enemy had allowed their civilian aircraft also to continue to fly out of Lahore, not only their aircrafts but also international passenger aircrafts, which is quite insensitive, and we had to exercise extreme caution.”
DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai said, “On land, we also undertook certain measures such as deployment of air defence and electronic warfare assets to establish an integrated grid with the Indian Air Force and I have seen and heard some of you wax eloquent about the benefits of such an architecture when it comes to negating and combating air intrusions.”
“We also carried out deployment to include movement of our forces in the land, sea, and air domains. The night of the 9-10 May saw similar intrusions by drones and aircraft, and this time there was a concerted effort to target airfields and some very, very important logistic installations, albeit yet again unsuccessful and denied gallantly and efficiently by the integrated Indian Air Force and Indian Army air defence…”
On Saturday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed that Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations contacted his Indian counterpart, and both sides agreed to halt all military actions on land, sea, and air.
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