by Our Correspondent in New Delhi
In a major military development, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held consultations with the chiefs of the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force following the launch of Operation Sindoor, a high-precision joint strike by the Indian Armed Forces targeting terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that the operation, conducted in the early hours of Wednesday, successfully hit nine terror infrastructure sites, including four inside Pakistan—specifically in Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Sialkot—and five in PoJK. The strikes were described as “focused, measured, and non-escalatory”, deliberately avoiding Pakistani military facilities to prevent further escalation.
According to the MoD, the operation was launched in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen. Intelligence-led precision munitions and loitering weapons systems from all three military branches were used, with coordinates verified by Indian intelligence agencies. All strikes were launched from Indian soil, underscoring India’s adherence to strategic restraint.
Sources told ANI that Prime Minister Narendra Modi monitored the entire operation in real-time, and all designated targets were successfully neutralized. The main objective was to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and eliminate senior leaders of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) involved in orchestrating cross-border attacks on Indian soil.
Despite India’s calibrated military posture, Pakistan violated the ceasefire shortly after the operation, initiating unprovoked artillery shelling in the Bhimber Gali sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Army reported that three civilians lost their lives in the cross-border fire, and it is responding “appropriately in a proportionate and calibrated manner.”
The Ministry of Defence has scheduled a press briefing at 10:00 AM on Wednesday to provide further details on Operation Sindoor, its outcomes, and India’s strategic objectives moving forward.
In response to heightened tensions and potential security risks, Air India, Air India Express, and SpiceJet cancelled or diverted flights to and from several northern Indian cities, including Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Amritsar, and Jodhpur. Passengers have been advised to monitor updates and confirm flight statuses as operations remain suspended in affected areas.
Operation Sindoor marks India’s deepest strike into undisputed Pakistani territory since the 1971 war, with experts calling it New Delhi’s most significant military action in more than five decades. It signals a bold shift in India’s counterterrorism doctrine while maintaining a careful balance to avoid full-scale escalation.
