India concluded its military operations under Operation Sindoor within just three days, having met all its strategic goals, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan stated during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday. Speaking nearly three weeks after a surprise ceasefire was announced on May 10, General Chauhan clarified that the timing was part of India’s calculated strategic plan.
Amid the peak of the operation, the unexpected halt in hostilities had led to widespread speculation; however, General Chauhan later clarified the reasoning behind the move.
Operation Sindoor began in the early hours of May 6–7, following the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, which claimed 26 lives. General Chauhan revealed that India responded by hitting nine terrorist hubs across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), killing over 100 terrorists, including Jaish-e-Mohammed commander Abdul Rauf Azhar.
Indian forces also crippled Pakistan’s air defence network, conducting precision strikes on air bases located in Skardu, Jacobabad, Sargodha, and Bholari.
During this period, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border firing along the Line of Control (LoC), which led to 16 Indian casualties—15 civilians and one soldier. In response, on the morning of May 10, the Indian Air Force launched BrahMos missile attacks targeting Pakistan’s Noor Khan Airbase and Chaklala Airport in Rawalpindi. Following this significant escalation, Pakistan requested a ceasefire, which India accepted.
General Chauhan emphasised that India acted independently and with complete clarity, guided by a long-term strategic vision shaped since Independence in 1947. He contrasted India’s development with Pakistan’s, asserting that India had overtaken its neighbour on multiple fronts, including economic, social, and human development.
Despite repeated Indian attempts to improve relations—such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inviting Nawaz Sharif to his 2014 swearing-in—General Chauhan noted that Islamabad has consistently responded with aggression. Consequently, maintaining strategic distance is now seen as the most prudent stance.
While the guns have fallen silent for now, General Chauhan made it clear that the Indian military remains on high alert. “Any further provocation will be met with a swift and forceful retaliation,” he warned, underscoring that Operation Sindoor was a declaration of India’s resolve against terrorism.
