Following the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam that claimed the lives of 26 civilians, the Indian Army launched Operation Sindoor in May 2025, targeting terrorist infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). This operation, marked by precision missile strikes, has sent a strong message to India’s enemies, with the army issuing a stern warning of future action.
Operation Sindoor was initiated in response to the Pahalgam attack, for which The Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility. India asserts that the TRF is supported by Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denies, calling for a neutral investigation. In a high-level meeting on April 29, Prime Minister Modi granted the armed forces "complete operational freedom" to respond to the terror attack.
The strikes targeted key terrorist installations, including Jaish-e-Mohammad's stronghold in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke. According to Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, the missile strikes “focused on dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and disabling terrorists likely to be sent across to India”.
The operation initially involved strikes on terrorist-linked targets but expanded over several days, coinciding with Pakistani retaliation. Pakistan claimed its military shot down multiple Indian military planes, but India has not confirmed these claims. The Indian military officials Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh detailed that five of the nine sites that India hit were in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the remaining four were in Punjab – in Bahawalpur, Muridke, Shakar Garh and a village near Sialkot.
More than 20 targets were identified under Operation Sindoor. Before the strikes, a detailed discussion was held between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the chiefs of the Army, Air Force, and Navy. The meeting focused on ensuring the attack was precise and elaborate, with instructions to prioritize the Markaz Taiba camp in Muridke and Markaz Subhanallah in Bahawalpur. All options were then presented to Prime Minister Modi, including preparations for potential Pakistani retaliation.
The Indian Army, in a statement, said that "Justice is Served". The Ministry of Defence emphasized that the actions were focused, measured, and non-escalatory, avoiding Pakistani military facilities and demonstrating considerable restraint in the selection of targets and methods of execution.
Operation Sindoor has been described as a calibrated use of force, intended to signal resolve, degrade terrorist infrastructure, and demonstrate capability without escalating into a broader war. According to Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, the strategy behind continuing Operation Sindoor is to maintain "escalation dominance" and ensure terrorists realize that the magnitude and timing of future responses will be entirely in India's control. He also highlighted the effective use of both foreign-origin and indigenous weapons, calling the BrahMos missile a game-changer.
The operation exemplifies India's effective conduct of warfare to recalibrate deterrence through cost imposition in the physical and cognitive domains of the adversary. Strategic pragmatism has helped India maintain its defenses and target the adversary in both the physical and cognitive domains of strategy. The information domain remains a vital theatre of engagement, and India must continue to shape the narrative to ensure a lasting psychological impact on the adversary.
Operation Sindoor has redefined the contours of India's response toolkit and set a precedent. The use of cross-border force against terrorist-linked targets in Pakistan proper has now moved from exception to expectation. Future attacks on Indian soil, especially those traced to infrastructure across the border, are likely to draw a response of equal or greater magnitude to degrade the assets enabling terrorist action.
