On May 7, 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor in response to a Pakistani-sponsored terrorist attack at Pahalgam that killed 26 innocent civilians. The Indian strikes hit nine terrorist camps, deep inside Pakistan. In the four-day exchange of fire that followed, India also hit 11 Pakistani air bases and radar installations, forcing them to ask for a ceasefire. The lessons of Op Sindoor had been driven home.
“There is no distinction between terror sponsors and Terrorists. India will no longer see terrorist leaders and the governments sheltering them as separate entities.”: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
The torturous history of terrorism in India
The scourge of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in India goes back to 1947. Just two months after Pakistan was created on the basis of the flawed “Two-nation theory,” it sent armed tribesmen, led by Army officers and men in civilian clothing, to wrench Kashmir by force. The attempt was foiled by Indian security forces.
In the late 1980s, spurred by the policies of General Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan began a vicious programme of state-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir, which continued for over two decades. But the main scourge of terrorism hit India in the first decade of the millennium, when attacks took place virtually across the country, including on the Indian Parliament in 2001. The most heinous act was the 26/11 attacks in 2008, when ten members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba entered Mumbai by sea, killing 175 innocent people. One of the attackers, Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive. During the interrogation, he admitted to his training and indoctrination by the Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the active complicity of the Pakistani Army and ISI in the attack. In spite of proven Pakistani involvement in the attack, the Indian response remained muted.
The lack of response perhaps emboldened the Pakistani establishment into thinking that they could continue the policy without fear of retaliation. The turning point came in September 2016, when militants of the Jaish-e-Mohammed attacked an army camp in Uri, killing 19 soldiers. Just 10 days after the strike, Indian commandos crossed the Line of Control and attacked terrorist launchpads inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. What really changed the equation was the Pulwama attack, when 40 CRPF troopers were killed in a suicide attack on 14 February 2019—a strike claimed by the Jaish-e-Mohammad. This time, the Indian response was even stronger. Indian aircraft struck a terrorist camp inside Pakistan at Balakot. Notably, terrorist incidents dropped significantly after the operation.
The terrorist attack at Pahalgam
In the following years, Kashmir was slowly returning to normalcy. It was a situation that Pakistan could not accept. On April 22, 2025, Pakistani-sponsored terrorists killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam, and the die was cast for another response.
The Pahalgam attack was carried out by well-trained terrorists, specifically targeting tourists based on religion. It was no coincidence that just a few days before the attack, the Pakistani Army Chief, General Asim Munir, invoked the Kashmir issue once again, which probably led to the strike.
The strike had to have a response, and in its strongest action ever, India announced the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), and also a slew of economic measures against Pakistan. But more than that, India launched Operation Sindoor, an ongoing military operation aimed at Pakistan’s terrorist infrastructure.
Op Sindoor - The strike
On the intervening night of May 6-7, a strike package of IAF Rafales, Mirage 2000s and Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighters launched a precision strike on terrorist camps within Pakistan, firing SCALP Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles and Hammer air-to-ground precision bombs, which were launched from well within Indian airspace. Long-range artillery using precision-guided munitions was used for targets closer in range. Other aircraft simulated activity all along the front to divide the enemy reaction. The entire operation was controlled by an Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, while loitering drones sent back videos of the strike and the damage, before they too finally crashed into their designated targets with their explosive payloads.
The entire strike lasted just 24 minutes – from 01.04 am till 01.30 am. By the time it was over, 24 missiles had hit nine terrorist camps – five in PoK and four in Pakistani Punjab. These included the Sawai Nala training camp at Muzzafarabad, the Bilal camp in PoK, the Gulpur camp in Kotli, the Barnala camp in Bhimbar, the Kotli Abbas camp and the Sarjal camp in Sialkot—all around 9-30 kms deep. The more significant targets were deeper in Pakistani Punjab. Markaz Taiba camp in Muridke, near Lahore—the HQ of the Lashkar-e-Taiba from where its chief Hafiz Saeed planned the Mumbai blasts and other terrorist attacks—was levelled with a high precision missile strike. At Bahawalpur, over 100 kms deep, the Markaz Subhan camp, HQ of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, was similarly eradicated. Over 90 operatives were reportedly killed in this strike, the losses confirmed by radio intercepts and messages. But it is telling that Pakistani officers and politicians were present for the funerals of dead terrorists—an indictment of the deep nexus that exists between them and the terrorist groups they have raised and sponsored.
The attack also saw the first long-range air battle between Indian and Pakistani fighter aircraft. Around 125 aircraft on both sides engaged each other at ranges up to 100 kilometres using beyond visual range missiles. Indian Rafales, Mirage 2000s, Sukhoi 30s and MIG 29s engaged Pakistani J-10 and J-17 Chinese-made multi-role fighters equipped with PL-15 air-to-air missiles. The aerial engagement is estimated to have lasted around an hour. Pakistan claimed to have shot down three to five Indian aircraft, but without any substantive proof. There would have been some damage to equipment, but not a single pilot was lost, and more importantly, the strike hit the designated targets with precision and impunity, inflicting considerable damage and sending across a clear statement of intent.
The escalation
Pakistani reaction came the very same day as it launched its own Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos. At around 20:30 hours, Pakistan targeted 15 military establishments all the way from Bhuj to Srinagar, striking with drones and missiles. The very next day (May 8), the conflict escalated even further as Pakistan fired over 500 missiles and drones at military and civilian locations. The missiles were intercepted and shot down—8 in the Jammu region itself—but a number of drones did get through, inflicting localised damage. It was the first time since 1971 that both sides had targeted each other’s cities—something that was not done even during the Kargil War. That same afternoon, India attacked Pakistani military installations at Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Miano, Bahawalpur, and as far as Karachi, destroying the HQ-9 Air Defence system at Lahore with Harpy Kamikazi drones. The attack was quite ingenuously done. Drones mimicking the radio and electronic signals of aircraft were flown towards the target, which made them activate their radars. The Harpy drones homed in on to the radar emissions and smashed into them, destroying radars and AD systems. Pakistan claimed to have targeted Indian S-400 Air Defence systems similarly, but later accounts proved that not a single AD battery was penetrated by the Pakistanis.
On the night of May 8/9 , Pakistan launched its third round of attacks using around 300 drones – most of them Turkish-built Songars – in a strike directed at 26 installations along the western border. The attacks came in swarms, with sophisticated attack drones mingled with dozens of cheap expendable drones, to simply swamp the defences. It is to the credit of Indian air defence systems that not a single drone or missile managed to hit a defence installation. Most of the drones were shot down by air defence guns (thus preserving precious AD missiles for more dangerous targets). A Pakistani Fatah II missile was also shot down near Sirsa—presumably headed for Delhi—as the non-contact war escalated. No naval or ground attacks took place, though the navy had already taken up positions in the Arabian Sea and was poised to hit naval targets, if required. Formations had also mobilised and moved towards the border, but no ground action took place. But along the LOC, the ceasefire broke down completely as artillery and mortar duels and small arms firing raged along its entire frontage.
India’s attack on Pakistan’s air bases
The night of May 9/10 was perhaps the most significant of the war. On that night, India struck eight Pakistan Air Force bases and three radar locations, with devastating missiles and drone strikes. The targets were spread across the entire length and breadth of the country and covered the major air bases of all three Air Commands—the PAF Northern, Central and Southern Air Commands.
At 02.09 am on the night of May 10, Nur Khan airbase at Rawalpindi, which was located close to their nuclear stowage plant at Kirana Hills, was hit by a series of Brahmos missiles. The shock of the explosions could be heard as far as Islamabad, and led to fears that their nuclear weapons had been targeted, and forced a radioactive sweep of the area to check for any leakage. At 2.30 am, Gen Asim Munir called up Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, informing him of the strike. Speaking after the war, Prime Minister Sharif admitted the devastating effect of the Indian strikes, saying, “We had decided that at 4.40 am in the morning, after the Fajr prayers, Pakistan armed forces, ably led by Chief Syed Asim Munir, would launch an attack to teach a lesson to our enemy. But before that, Indians launched missile attacks, BrahMos and others, which hit Pakistan’s various provinces, including Rawalpindi and other places.”
The effect of the strikes was indeed devastating. Rahimyar Khan was hit by a series of missiles – most probably Brahmos—which damaged the runways and hangars, rendering them inoperable. The PAF’s most crucial strategic asset – the Sargodha base, which is HQ to its Central Air Command and houses Mirage 5, J-7, JF-17 and F-16 squadrons—the mainstay of its air force—was virtually crippled by a pinpoint strike that hit the centre of two sections of runway. Bholari – Pakistan’s newest and most advanced base, located 270 kilometres deep, which houses JF-17 Thunder and F-16 squadrons, along with the latest SAAB 2000 Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft. The Indian attack killed Squadron Leader Usman Yusuf and four airmen on the ground, and a SAAB 2000 was damaged when a missile hit the hangar it was sheltering in.
The air bases at Chakwal, Shorkot, Jacobabad and Sukkar were also hit. It seems that only the Rafiqui airbase at Shorkot could activate its air defence sufficiently to prevent major damage. All others suffered significant damage, which slowly emerged through satellite photos, admissions by Pakistani sources, and even international tenders that were put up by the PAF seeking contractors to repair the damage caused to these bases by the Indian strikes. The strikes proved that Pakistani air defence could be penetrated with ease, and no part of Pakistan was safe from Indian strikes. Radar stations at Sialkot, Pasrur and Chunian and as far off as Malir in Karachi, were also hit, which now caused huge gaps in their air defence, which could have been exploited for subsequent attacks. The Air Force and even the Navy were raring to have another go when the ceasefire was suddenly announced.
Perhaps the effect of these strikes led Pakistan to ask for a ceasefire. The circumstances behind the ceasefire have different versions. President Donald Trump tweeted that he had asked the two sides for a ceasefire, and claimed credit for it—a claim that later proved unfounded. Both sides claimed that the other had asked for it. But in effect, their DGMO had been reaching out to his Indian counterpart all morning, and the proposal was finally agreed upon in the afternoon of May 10, and the ceasefire came into effect at 1700 hours on May 10.
India made a clear statement of intent that Pakistani-sponsored terrorism would not be condoned, and our reaction could come across the border, if need be. The damage imposed on Pakistan should serve as a deterrent for a while. But we cannot afford to let our guard down. If anything, our intelligence and internal security need to be heightened. Pakistan is unlikely to change its ways, but it would be well warned of the dangers of sponsoring terrorism on Indian soil. If that message drives home, Operation Sindoor would well and truly have attained its aims.
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