*Pakistan sought ceasefire after losing soldiers, attacks on air bases: India
*‘Hotline message sent to Pak DGMO highlighting violation’
*Give forceful response to any Pak misadventure: Modi to armed forces
New Delhi: India has called Pakistan’s nuclear bluff with Operation Sindoor and sent a psychological message to state-sponsored terrorists: nobody is untouchable and no place in Pakistan is safe for you, government sources said on Sunday.
India has also set a “new normal” in response to Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism through the operation and Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed the armed forces that Indian retaliation to any action by the Pakistani military should be “bigger and stronger”, they said.
“Wahan se goli chalegi, toh yahan se gola chalega (If they fire bullets, we will respond with cannons),” one of the sources quoted PM Modi as saying following the Pakistani actions.
Operation Sindoor is not concluded yet and the cost of cross-border terrorism will be raised as Pakistan can’t continue with terrorism while expecting cooperation in areas of its choosing, the sources said.
When asked whether Operation Sindoor managed to fulfil the Prime Minister’s instructions, a senior government source said, “Markaz ko mitti mei mila diya hai; age ka bhi dekhenge”.
He was referring to precision strikes on nine terrorist training sites and headquarters on the early morning of May 7.
Asked how many more terror centres remain in Pakistan, another source posed a counter question: How big is Pakistan, implying the country is a hotbed of terrorism.
The sources also emphasised that the confrontation never reached the stage of a nuclear conflict which has been the greatest fear and threat used by Pakistan, whose military is vastly smaller than India’s.
However, the nuclear deterrence has given it some amount of parity, they said.
“We have called their nuclear deterrence bluff. We take the nuclear threat seriously, but it cannot serve as cover for Pakistan to come and do terrorism in our country,” said a senior source.
“The new normal is that the Line of Control will not protect you; the international border will not protect you; the nuclear threat will not protect you,” the source said.
“The message that has been sent is that no matter where you are in Pakistan, we will hit you. On this occasion, we have gone after the head of the snake and not foot soldiers,” it said.
The sources said Indian action demonstrated its new approach to kill terrorists within Pakistan.
“It showed our approach of ‘ghar me ghus ke marenge’ (kill them within their home),” said a source.
India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure early on May 7, following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10.
The Pakistani actions were strongly responded to by the Indian side by inflicting heavy damage to a number of key Pakistani military installations, including air bases, air defence systems, command and control centres and radar sites.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Saturday evening announced that India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect.
“The actions taken by India are aimed at creating and setting a new normal in the relationship with Pakistan.
“Pakistan and the world will have to get used to this new normal because India has had enough,” said a source.
‘India not ready to engage on Kashmir’
New Delhi: India is not ready to engage on matters of Kashmir, and the only thing left on Kashmir is the Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) issue, as per sources.
According to the sources, all discussions on military action cessation will be conducted exclusively through Director General of Military Operations (DGMO)- level talks, with no third-party involvement.
“We are not ready to engage on matters of Kashmir. The only thing left on Kashmir is PoK. The message is that it is the DGMO-level talks which is the channel of communication with regard to cessation of military action. No third country or no third party is to be involved in this. India will not be ready to engage with anybody or any party other than the Pakistan DGMO,” sources said.
Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7, targeting nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
This operation was a retaliatory response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians, including one Nepali national.
Following India’s operation, the conflict between India and Pakistan deepened, which resulted in increased cross-border shelling from Pakistan and retaliatory action from the Indian Armed Forces.
Areas across the border were set up on high alert, and there were blackouts whenever attacks from Pakistan took place.
On Saturday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed that Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations contacted his Indian counterpart and the two sides agreed to halt all military actions, on land, at sea, and in the air, effective from 5 pm.
Misri noted that instructions have been issued to enforce the ceasefire, with another round of DGMO-level talks scheduled for May 12 at noon.
However, hours after both countries agreed to stop all firing and military action on land, in the air, and sea, reports came of Pakistan violating the cessation of hostilities with India’s air defence intercepting Pakistani drones amid a blackout in Srinagar.
India called upon Pakistan to take appropriate steps to address these violations and deal with the situation with seriousness and responsibility.
Over 100 terrorists, 35-40 Pak military personnel killed
New Delhi: India on Sunday said it inflicted tremendous losses on the Pakistan military, including downing its fighter jets featuring latest technologies and damaging key military installations close to even the capital Islamabad, during the three-day confrontation between the two sides.
Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said 35-40 Pakistani military personnel were killed in the combat and New Delhi achieved its desired objectives and that Pakistan will have to pay a very heavy price if it resorts to any misadventure.
He also said more than 100 terrorists, including those involved in the 1999 Indian Airlines flight (IC-814) hijacking, and the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, were eliminated in the precision strikes carried out by the armed forces in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor.
At a media briefing, senior military officials of the Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy provided details of Operation Sindoor, including how India repelled Pakistani attempts to target Indian military installations and civilian areas.
To a question, Air Marshal AK Bharti said India definitely downed a few Pakistani planes but refused to hazard a guess on the numbers.
“Their planes were prevented from coming inside our border. So we do not have the wreckage with us but definitely we have downed a few planes,” he said.
Asked about reports in the foreign media of losses of Indian fighter jets, Air Marshal Bharati said, “We are in a combat situation and losses are part of combat.”
“All I can say is that we have achieved our objectives that we selected and all our pilots are back home,” he said.
DGMO Lt Gen Ghai also paid tribute to five Indian fallen heroes and civilians who “tragically lost their lives” during Operation Sindoor.
“We have thus far exercised immense restraint and our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory. However, any threat to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and safety of our citizens will be met with decisive force,” he said.
On losses to the Pakistani military, the DGMO said there are reports of 35-40 fatalities.
The DGMO said it was his Pakistani counterpart who made a call to him last afternoon, requesting a way out to stop the hostilities.
The two DGMOs on Saturday afternoon agreed to stop all firing and military action on land and in the air and sea with effect from 5 pm Indian Standard Time.
The Indian military suggested that the Pakistani DGMO’s call came after Indian Armed Forces launched a fierce counter-attack on several Pakistani military installations including Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian on Saturday morning.
The strikes were launched after the Pakistan military attempted to target major Indian military installations on the night of May 9-10.
Lt Gen Ghai said over 100 terrorists, including high-value targets such as Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed, who were involved in the hijacking of IC 814 and the Pulwama blast, were eliminated during Operation Sindoor on May 7.
Nine terror targets were identified after careful deliberations and they were hit using precision weapons, he said.
