Jaipur: No terror sanctuary in Pakistan is beyond India’s strike capabilities, the military said Thursday, while also asserting that no third country brokered the cessation of hostilities in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.
Addressing the media here on the sidelines of the Joint Commanders’ Conference, Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Strategy) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said the new normal with Pakistan dictates that any act of terror will be met with retribution.
Lt Gen Ghai was Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) during Operation Sindoor.
India’s fight, he said, was against terrorists and their support infrastructure, adding that no terror sanctuary across the Line of Control (LOC) is safe.
“We will hit everything…we will go after everything. I think that’s been made clear in the new normal that the Prime Minister stated last year. But the conditions, the timing and the method will be ours,” Lt Gen Ghai said.
Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS), said India has always believed in ‘live and let live’ but its affinity for peace should not be mistaken for weakness.
“We struck and decimated their 9 terrorist camps on 7 May [2025]. The proof is there for everybody to see. We struck 11 of their airfields. We destroyed 13 of their aircraft either on the ground or in the air, including one high-value airborne asset at a record distance of 300 kilometres plus…” he said.
Air Marshal Bharti was Director General of Air Operations (DGAO) during Operation Sindoor.
On Pakistan’s claim that it successfully carried out strikes against India, he said, “They have not been able to inflict any major damage on our side. Neither any military infrastructure nor much of the civilian structures…whatever they may say, remember narratives and rhetoric do not give you victory. Victory is measured by hard facts…”
On why India agreed to cessation of hostilities on 10 May, Air Marshal Bharti said we had achieved our objectives. “Our mission was complete. But, when Pakistani establishment decided to side with terror, and make it their own fight, we had no choice but to respond in kind.”
He added, “When we responded, it was lethal and ruthless. After taking the beating, sense kicked in the adversary. They asked for cessation of hostilities. We paused when the request came. We stepped back, but we didn’t blink. The message was delivered. Acts of terror will have consequences.”
Vice Admiral A.N. Pramod, Director General of Naval Operations (DGNO), spoke on the collusion between China and Pakistan, adding that Beijing refrained from condemning the Pahalgam attack.
“China refrained from condemning the Pahalgam attack. Similarly, when the UN Security Council press statements were made, and that’s the time when China again influenced, and the references of The Resistance Front, who were directly involved in the [Pahalgam] attack, was not made. As General Ghai had mentioned that 80 percent of arms imports are from China. That’s a kind of economic, military, and strategic relationship with China and Pakistan,” he said.
Lt Gen Ghai said India is “not worried” and is on the path of meeting these challenges.
On new structures Pakistan created after Operation Sindoor—like the Rocket Force and Chief of Defence Forces—Deputy Chief, Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) Lt Gen Zubin A. Minwalla said it’s an indicator of how hard Pakistan was hit.
“What I want to highlight is, firstly, in terms of Pakistan, you said it has created some structures. We know what its capabilities are. We know exactly what it has. So whatever structure it creates, we know what it has to bring against us. In terms of our own capabilities, we are enhancing our own capabilities to go beyond what we currently exist…” he said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: Operation Sindoor 2 could unfold in 5 yrs. Pakistan is learning from Iran