As Operation Sindoor marked one year on Thursday, May 7, the Defense Forces team that led the military strike against terrorism in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) said the operation was not the end, but “just the beginning”. The then Director General of Military Operations, Lieutenant General Rajeev Ghai, said that “hungama” (chaos) was not the intention, but to bring about “change” was.
The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025 in response to the April 22 terrorist attack that killed 26 people in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.
Indian forces have targeted terrorist infrastructure belonging to groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad in Pakistan and the BPKP.
“Hungama karna maqsad nahi”
India’s fight against terrorism will continue, Lieutenant General Rajeev Ghai, the then Director General of the department, said during a press conference in Rajasthan on Thursday.
“Sirf hungama khada karna mera maqsad nahi. Meri kushish hai ki yeh surat badalni chahiya. Operation Sindoor was not an end. It was just the beginning. India’s fight against terrorism will continue,” Ghai added.
He also said that a year after the attack, India remembers not only Operation Sindoor but also the principle behind it.
“India will defend its sovereignty, security and people decisively, professionally and with utmost responsibility,” the former Director General of the Armed Forces Directorate added.
Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, Air Marshal AK Bharti and Vice Admiral AN Pramod led Operation Sindoor from the front, being the commanders of India’s armed defences.
Op Sindoor “Statement of Intent”
Ghai said the military operation was perhaps a defining moment in India’s strategic journey. He added, “Operation Sindoor witnessed India very consciously and coherently going beyond its previous tactics and methods and targeting terrorism across the Line of Control and our international border with Pakistan.”
He described the operation as “a statement of resolve, responsibility and strategic restraint on the part of the nation.”
Ghai reiterated that the Center has given the armed forces two clear directions – identification of political-military objectives and flexibility in making operational decisions.
The former Director General of the Director General of the Armed Forces said that a firm approach at the top, professional independence and flexibility at the operational level were key factors for the success of the Indian Armed Forces.
“Operation Sindoor highlighted the cutting-edge approach of the entire Indian government, which was executed in a clockwork manner on the battlefield,” Ghai added.
The Lt Gen further explained that of the nine precision strikes carried out by the trilateral forces, seven were carried out by the Indian Army and two by the Indian Air Force. He said the strikes “were perfectly timed, achieved complete surprise and inflicted maximum damage on every entrenched center” in PoK and the heart of Pakistan, “suggesting that there was no safe haven.”
