India&rsquo;s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan on Tuesday said that the Indian military&rsquo;s response to cross-border terrorism through Operation Sindoor established a new strategic threshold, while asserting that temporary setbacks, including the loss of combat aircraft, did not alter the broader outcome.
Speaking at Savitribai Phule Pune University, Gen Chauhan stressed that professional armed forces focus on the end result, not on short-term losses. &ldquo;When I was asked about losses on our side, I said these are not important as results and how you act are important,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;
Responding to questions about reported losses, he added, &ldquo;It would be not very correct to talk about losses and numbers. In war, even if there are setbacks, you need to maintain your morale. Losses are not important, but outcomes are.&rdquo;
According to the CDS, India&rsquo;s military offensive came as a response to Pakistan&rsquo;s long-standing doctrine of waging a proxy war through terrorism. Referring to the cross-border attack in Pahalgam, which he described as an act of &ldquo;profound cruelty towards victims,&rdquo; Gen Chauhan noted that Pakistan had continued to pursue its strategy of bleeding India &ldquo;by a thousand cuts.&rdquo;&nbsp;
He also criticised Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir, accusing him of &ldquo;spewing venom&rdquo; against India and Hindus in public remarks made shortly before the Pahalgam incident.
Gen Chauhan explained that Operation Sindoor was intended to directly target state-sponsored terrorism and challenge Pakistan&rsquo;s ability to leverage both terrorism and nuclear deterrence against India.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The thinking behind Operation Sindoor was that state-sponsored terrorism from Pakistan has to stop and that country should not be able to hold India hostage to terrorism. India is not going to live under the shadow of terror and nuclear blackmail,&rdquo; he said.
He detailed how the Indian armed forces launched precise and deliberate strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), describing some of the attacks as accurate to within two metres. &ldquo;We carried out very deliberate precision strikes on Pakistani targets, and some of them were as narrow as two metres,&rdquo; he noted.
Events escalated on the night of May 9-10, when, according to Gen Chauhan, Pakistan launched multiple strikes across Indian territory. &ldquo;On the 10th of May, at about 1 am, their (Pakistan&rsquo;s) aim was to get India to its knees in 48 hours. Multiple attacks were launched and in some manner, they have escalated this conflict, which we had actually hit only terror targets,&rdquo; he said.
The Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs later confirmed that Pakistani strikes targeted 26 locations along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB), spanning from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir to Naliya in Gujarat.&nbsp;
Indian Air Force (IAF) bases in Udhampur, Pathankot, Adampur, and Bhuj were among those attacked. Pakistani forces also struck schools and medical centres located within IAF facilities in Srinagar, Udhampur, and Awantipora.
At 1:40 am on May 10, Pakistan launched a high-speed missile aimed at airbases in Punjab. Indian forces successfully repelled the majority of these attacks and mounted a counter-offensive, targeting Pakistani military assets and infrastructure. Precision strikes were carried out against airbases including Rafiqui, Murid, Nur Khan, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, and Chunian.
Gen Chauhan revealed that Pakistan&rsquo;s plan to continue its operations for 48 hours collapsed within eight hours of Indian retaliation. &ldquo;Pakistan planned to carry out its counter operations against India for 48 hours but it folded up in about eight hours. And they wanted to talk,&rdquo; he said.
Following the failed offensive, Pakistan&rsquo;s Director General of Military Operations contacted India via the military hotline to propose de-escalation. &ldquo;Pakistan's decision to talk to India on May 10 stemmed from realisation that it will suffer more if its operation continues. When the request for talks and de-escalation came from Pakistan, we accepted it,&rdquo; Gen Chauhan confirmed.&nbsp;
A formal ceasefire was declared by both nations at 5 pm that day.
Highlighting the wider strategic message of Operation Sindoor, Gen Chauhan said, &ldquo;We have raised the bar; we have connected terror to water, we have drawn a new line of military operation against terror.&rdquo;&nbsp;
He concluded that the conflict combined both military and political dimensions, stating, &ldquo;In Operation Sindoor too, war and politics were happening as a parallel kind of phenomenon.&rdquo;

India's Operation Sindoor marked a strategic shift, forcing Pakistan into ceasefire after failed 48-hour offensive.

Gen Chauhan: Outcome Matters, Not Jet Losses

India's Operation Sindoor marked a strategic shift, forcing Pakistan into ceasefire after failed 48-hour offensive.

June 3, 2025 | 17:57 IST