Pakistan will think twice before supporting terrorism against India after the hard lessons it learned from Operation Sindoor exactly a year ago, when the Indian armed forces launched swift and decisive action to punish its neighbor for its involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack, said former IAF Deputy Chief Marshal Narmedeshwar Tiwari (retd), an insider familiar with the 88-hour conflict.
“The most significant change that Operation Sindoor has brought about in the India-Pakistan dynamic is that Islamabad will now be more cautious before attempting any damage. It will think twice. We acted quickly and practically entered into a decision-making cycle during the operation. The adversary was surprised by our speed, reach and clarity of our objectives,” Tiwari said in an interview.
Operation Sindoor was New Delhi’s direct military response to the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22 in which 26 people were killed. India launched the operation in the early hours of 7 May 2025 and struck terrorist and military facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir before a ceasefire on the evening of 10 May.
The ongoing hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan appear to be a diversionary tactic by Islamabad to divert attention away from the losses suffered during Operation Sindoor.
He added: “They are now trying to show the world that they have had some military success on the Western side. Pakistan is also trying to project itself as a ‘responsible country’ by facilitating talks between the US and Iran. I don’t think it will change their mentality, but they certainly won’t try to do anything silly with us. Operation Sindoor was a clear lesson for them… and they couldn’t really do much about it. It was a new normal against terrorism.”
Read also: The many successes of Operation Sindoor
Indian forces bombed nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and the Buk, killing at least 100 terrorists, and the Indian Air Force struck targets at 13 Pakistani air bases and military installations from May 7 to 10. The four-day military clash included fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and a fierce artillery duel.
Tiwari enumerated key highlights from Operation Sindoor, which is often described as a defining moment in India’s counter-terrorism and deterrence strategy.
“There are many conclusions but I will list the most important three. First, the centrality of air power. And when I say air power, it is not just air power… I am also talking about the Army, which has used loitering munitions against enemy targets. Air power will be crucial in the future war as well. The second takeaway is how our robust air defense network has been able to penetrate multiple waves of Pakistani air attacks on our military bases and civilian areas. Third, each service has fully demonstrated its core capabilities for the best fight,” said Tiwari, who was IAF vice president until December 31, 2025: “Results.”
Pakistan lost as many as 12 to 13 aircraft, including fighter jets such as US-made F-16s and Chinese-origin JF-17s, due to precision air strikes by the air force on the ground and in the air during the military clash, according to the Indian Air Force.
To be sure, there are also reports that India has lost a few aircraft, and most senior military officials have not denied this.
He said the IAF used its core strengths well during the operation, leveraging key capabilities introduced over the years including Rafale fighter jets, S-400 Triumf air defense systems, air-launched BrahMos cruise missiles and other precision attack weapons.
“Nothing develops overnight. It is an evolutionary process. The origins of any weapons and systems that we have deployed and used go back 10 to 15 years,” Tiwari said.
“That’s how things work in technology. We’ve thought for a long time that long-range strike capability is very important. We saw that during Operation Sindor. And when I say precision weapons, it’s not just the weapon itself. It’s the whole process, including intelligence and targeting… because there’s no point in having a precision weapon if it’s put in the wrong place. The whole ecosystem has evolved over many years, and it worked very well for us during Operation Sindor.”
In the early hours of May 7, the IAF struck two terrorist sites at Subhanullah Center in Bahawalpur and Taiba Center near Muridke, both in Pakistan’s Punjab province, while the Army struck targets at seven places, including Mahmuna Joya in Sialkot, Sawai Nala and Syed Na Bilal in Muzaffarabad, Gulpur and Abbas in Kotli, Barnala in Bhimber, and Sargal.
In one of the counterstrikes on the night of May 7-8, Islamabad launched air attacks using drones and missiles on multiple towns and cities, including Awantipora, Srinagar, Jammu, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Pathankot, Phalodi, Suratgarh, Uttarlai, Nal, and Bhuj. The Indian air defense shield was able to repel the attacks.
From 9 to 10 May, the IAF struck military targets at Rafiqi, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunyan, Pasrur, Sialkot, Skardu, Sargodha, Jacobabad, Bullari and Malir Cantt in Karachi.
“I think we have done a great job. Capacity building is still a work in progress. It will continue to evolve as new technologies emerge. We need to invest more in space technologies to have real strategic independence. Both for surveillance and reconnaissance, but also for navigation and things like that. And when I say space, I mean the entire ecosystem – not just satellites, but everything from ground hubs to space control. We have to build the entire ecosystem, and a lot of work is already going on in this direction. We should see the results after two to three years,” Tiwari said. “Down the line.”
He added that the armed forces also need to focus on unmanned aerial systems and counter-drone technologies to enhance their capabilities on the battlefield.
“This is one area where we need further development. It’s a game of cat and mouse, and you have to stay ahead of the curve. Today you’re developing a system, tomorrow something new will come along and defeat that capability. Now you’ll need something to counter that. It’s an ongoing process,” he said, adding that domestically produced long-range weapons should also be a top priority.
Building military industrial parks is also crucial for security and self-reliance, Tiwari said. “It’s not just a weapon. You have to put it on the platform. You have to integrate it. You have to have the military-industrial complex, the supply chain, sufficient surge capacity and everything else.”
India did not stop Sindoor. It’s an ongoing process.
Tiwari added: “Pakistan remains under surveillance, and we reserve the right to respond forcefully if provoked. And at short notice.”
Regarding the IAF’s reported combat losses, he said: “It is something that will happen in operations. You cannot go into combat with zero error syndrome. Everything may not work out in your favor because you have an adversary with the same capability or a close counterpart. No country talks about these things because it gives an unfair advantage to the adversary. Confirming or denying what you are thinking immediately translates into whether tactics and weapons are useful at the ranges at which they are fired. This has operational and tactical implications that can be useful to the adversary and has not been confirmed.” Anything too.
