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The Defence Secretary revealed how India planned the Operation Sindoor’s targets in Pakistan, in response to barbaric Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
CNN-News18 Defence Townhall: Defence Secretary opens up about Operation Sindoor planning (CNN-News18)
Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on Saturday revealed during CNN-News18 Defence Townhall how planning went into Operation Sindoor and how the targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were chosen and with what message.
He said that after the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, India wanted to convey the message, which could only be conveyed if terror headquarters were struck deep inside Pakistan. Therefore, LeT and Jaish headquarters in Muridke and Bahawalpur were chosen, he said.
“After Pahalgam, there was meticulous planning of what target we should hit. The intent this time was to go beyond the foot soldiers and hit the headquarters, particularly LET and Jaish at Muridke and Bahawalpur. These outfits’ relationship with terror in India goes back to 26/11. The idea was to send a clear message, and the message would only go if we hit the headquarters and not just some of the camps. The planning, therefore, was focused on that. The intent was to hit only the terrorist outfits,” he said while speaking at CNN-News18 Defence Townhall.
“This was to convey to the Pakistanis that this was a non-escalatory, calibrated operation against terrorists. That was conveyed to them the next day, they did not respond to our calls at the DGMO level and decided to escalate,” he added.
Opening up on how the ceasefire was agreed, the Defence Secretary said that after India inflicted heavy damage to the Pakistani military, they spoke to the Indian DGMO and requested a ceasefire.
“After escalation, they came forward on 9th May, asking for a call from the DGMO. The DGMO spoke, and they essentially asked for the ceasefire. Broadly, that was the sequence of the event. The hits at these 9 locations, according to our assessment, killed almost 100 terrorist and their followers,” Singh said.
“Noor Khan is one of their important bases. Their VIP squadrons are based there, and there are other strategic assets there; it made it very clear to them that there is no way that they could sustain this kind of effect,” he added.
He said that Pakistan treats terrorists as its assets and they are cultivated to spread terrorism in India.
“These terrorists are their assets and they treat them as their assets, it confirms and validates that these people are cultivated to harbour terror in India as an instrument of state policy. This is the new normal that PM Modi has made very clear. For the most part, our air defence held up very well. Our population centre was not affected at all,” he said.
His remarks were in reference to Pakistan’s drone and missile attacks on Indian cities, which were foiled by India’s robust air defence system. India and Pakistan came to an “understanding” on May 10 to halt military operations. India, however, warned that any future terror attacks will be treated as an act of war and will be responded to accordingly. PM Modi has also made it clear that Operation Sindoor is not over yet and has only been put on hold.
Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes…Read More
Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes… Read More
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