How India planned Operation Sindoor

The wee hours of May 7 jolted awake when India chose to give Pakistan a befitting reply for the role it played in orchestrating the murder of 26 men, mostly tourists, in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. All eyes were fixed on the live feed on the large screen inside the well-furnished military operations room at the South Block, as the country’s top military leadership, including Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi and Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh watched the proceedings unfold. Prime Minister Narendra Modi monitored the mission from his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence, while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval connected via hotline.

The atmosphere in the ops room was sombre. But when the clock in the room showed 1:05am and drones equipped with cameras and sensors began relaying visuals in real time―showing bombs and projectiles hitting targets one after another―the grim mood gave way to cheer.

The operation, codenamed ‘Sindoor’ (vermilion), had commenced. For the next 25 minutes, mayhem reigned across nine carefully selected terror hubs in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and also extending deep into Pakistan. “There was not a single miss. All targets were hit,” a senior official involved in the operation told THE WEEK. “It proves the Indian military’s capability, technological skills and efficiency. Retaliation is expected. But we are fully prepared.” And he was right.

Hours later, Pakistan launched drone and missile attacks targeting military sites across 15 locations from north to west India―Awantipora, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai and Bhuj―only to be neutralised by the Indian air defence network. A defence ministry release on May 8 stated: “These (Pakistani missiles and drones) were neutralised by the Integrated Counter-UAS Grid and Air Defence systems. The debris from these attacks are being recovered from various locations, substantiating Pakistan’s involvement.”

In a counterstrike later in the day, the Indian military targeted Pakistani air defence radars and installations at several locations. “India’s response matched Pakistan’s in domain and intensity. It has been reliably learnt that an air defence system in Lahore has been neutralised,” the release added. Late in the night on May 8, Pakistan targeted military stations at Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur using drones and missiles. Many cities in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat reportedly came under attack. India successfully repulsed the attacks and there were reports about Indian retaliatory strikes in key Pakistani cities including Lahore and Sialkot.

Reportedly, Israeli-made Harpy drones were used by India to destroy Pakistani air defence systems, while the Russian-made S-400 system intercepted Pakistani missiles targeting Indian locations. Produced by the Israeli Aerospace Industries, the Harpy carries a high-explosive warhead designed to destroy radar systems. The Russian S-400 system can counter a wide range of airborne threats at a range of up to 600km and an altitude of up to 30km, engaging up to 36 targets simultaneously.

According to sources familiar with the night’s events in the ops room, the newly-adopted doctrine of “jointness” among the armed forces came into full play. “There was a palpable spirit of unity between the services,” the source noted. The Indian military is undergoing a major transformation to unify the Army, Navy and the Air Force into an integrated, theatre-based force with jointness as its guiding principle. Operation Sindoor is seen as the first successful validation of that vision.

A key factor in selecting May 7 as the launch date for Operation Sindoor could have been Pakistan’s economic vulnerability, as the country prepared for a board meeting of the International Monetary Fund on May 9 for a $1.3 billion grant. A Pakistani counterstrike, involving significant military expenditure, would be scrutinised closely by the IMF, reducing the likelihood of escalation. With the latest developments, Pakistan may have jeopardised its case.

“The Indian armed forces scripted history last night. They acted with precision, caution and compassion to destroy terror camps and infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK…. Through Operation Sindoor, India exercised its ‘right to respond’ to an attack on its soil,” said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, referring to the May 7 attacks.

Sitting less than 10km from South Block, technical and intelligence agencies had charted out the entire Punjab–PoK axis, mapping both physical and digital coordinates. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who has studied this terrain for over two decades in various roles, was briefed by serving and retired spies about how Pakistan’s Punjab province had become the ideological and logistical rear base while PoK remained the launchpad for terror operations, all under the protection of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). “Indian intelligence has long tracked the movements of terrorists from rear bases to the frontline,” said Brigadier C.S. Sandhu (retd), formerly with the cabinet secretariat.

There were several key takeaways from Operation Sindoor. India had already won the psychological battle after Pahalgam, as the terrorists’ primary goal―to provoke communal unrest―was thwarted. The senseless violence led to Kashmiris openly denouncing terrorism. Psychological gains were further reinforced when two women officers―Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh―addressed the media on May 7. Their appearance was a powerful message of unity and national progress.

Operation Sindoor is also seen as a textbook example of secrecy and adherence to the ‘need-to-know’ principle. An official familiar with the operation told THE WEEK: “Apart from a select few ministers, no one had the complete picture. Each person involved knew only their specific mandate and task.” Although several dummy runs were conducted between April 23 and May 6, no one outside the core group knew the exact day, time or method of attack. Deception tactics involving UAVs and naval platforms were executed to keep the adversary guessing.

Operation Sindoor marked the first time the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) played an operational role, and it delivered. Headed by General Chauhan, it is tasked with integrating and coordinating the efforts of India’s armed services, and it rose to the occasion. The Army took the lead role, tasked with hitting seven of the nine designated targets―most located near the LoC and within range of tactical weapons, while the Air Force played a secondary role, largely to avoid escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours through the use of fighter aircraft.

Operation Sindoor also demonstrated a “whole of the nation” approach, an ethos the government has been striving for. It had civil defence efforts, an economic offensive and a diplomatic outreach, all encapsulated within a broader geopolitical and strategic policy.

For 25 minutes, the Army unleashed its 155mm artillery guns, along with unmanned combat aerial vehicles and loitering munitions―also known as kamikaze or suicide drones―to pound terror bases. The Army’s seven targets included terror hubs in Sarjal (Punjab), Mehmoona Joya facility (Sialkot), Markaz Ahle Hadith, Barnala (Bhimber, PoK), Markaz Abbas and Maskar Raheel Shahid (Kotli, PoK), Shawai Nallah Camp and Markaz Syedna Bilal (Muzaffarabad, PoK). Notably, the Army has never publicly confirmed the use of kamikaze drones, developed in India with Israeli collaboration.

The IAF deployed a mix of platforms, including French-origin Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighters and the Russian-origin Sukhoi Su-30MKI. From a military perspective, this was the first time the IAF used British-French SCALP or ‘Storm Shadow’ missiles and the French-origin HAMMER missiles in a live conflict. These precision-guided missiles, deployed on Rafale aircraft, hit their targets successfully without the fighters crossing the Indian border. The IAF’s two assigned targets were the Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur―nearly 100 km inside Pakistan―and the Markaz Taiba in Muridke, in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

What also stands out is that Indian missiles struck targets 100km deep inside Pakistan at a time when the Pakistani military was expected to be on high alert, given that an Indian response was anticipated. This is a clear vindication of India’s offensive capability.

India also upped its diplomatic game following Pahalgam. A source in India’s security establishment told THE WEEK: “Contact was established with Sergei Shoigu, secretary of the Russian Security Council, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and also Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to the French president.” After the strike, Doval spoke to his counterparts in the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Japan. “The NSA briefed them on the action taken and the method of execution, which was measured, non-escalatory and restrained. He emphasised that India had no intent to escalate but was well-prepared to retaliate resolutely should Pakistan decide to do so,” the source added.

The same message was reiterated by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on May 8 after Pakistan stepped up attacks on Indian targets. Heavy Pakistani shelling along the LoC has already resulted in multiple casualties in Jammu and Kashmir. It was followed by missile attacks on several Indian targets, which were repulsed by Indian defence systems. “The attack of April 22 in Pahalgam is the original escalation, and the Indian armed forces responded to that escalation yesterday,” Misri said at a briefing. “India’s response is non-escalatory, precise and measured. Our intention is not to escalate matters, and we are only responding to the escalation. No military targets have been selected. Only terror infrastructure has been hit.”

Operation Sindoor may have begun on May 7, but it was arguably long overdue. State-backed terrorism in Pakistan rests on two foundational pillars―the military-terrorist nexus and the Punjab–PoK axis, which provides the base. Long before the Pahalgam and Pulwama (2019) terror attacks, the Punjab–PoK axis had been attracting global scrutiny for nurturing banned outfits such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), whose activities extend beyond India.

Pakistan’s generals needed more personnel―forces beyond the regular army―to wage proxy wars that would sustain their rule. Punjab, which has produced generals such as Zia-ul-Haq, Asif Nawaz and the incumbent Asim Munir, gradually saw villagers forgo agricultural livelihoods to centre their lives around well-built terror infrastructure funded by provincial and federal governments and even other countries. These facilities offered education, jobs, health care and sports opportunities. As more centres emerged, locals were spoilt for choice. On any given day, satellite imagery accessed by Indian security agencies shows hundreds of cadres undergoing arms training, ideological indoctrination and guerrilla warfare tactics. Since 2015, the main hub―Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur, JeM’s operational centre―has evolved into a strategic launchpad for terror operations against India. The terrorists involved in the Pulwama attack were reportedly trained there, according to documents seen by THE WEEK.

Flush with resources, the JeM leadership, including Masood Azhar, the group’s de jure chief, and Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar, its de facto leader, launched several operations. (Latest reports suggest that senior JeM commanders, including Asghar, may have been killed during Operation Sindoor.) The allure of joining JeM or LeT’s Markaz Taiba in Muridke, Punjab―another key centre established in 2000―continued to attract youth, further strengthening the Punjab–PoK axis.

“The Muridke complex, spanning 82 acres, featured a madrassa, residential quarters, sports facilities, agricultural tracts and a fish farm. It functioned as a training ground and an indoctrination hub for LeT operatives, enrolling around 1,000 students annually,” according to reports accessed by THE WEEK. Recruits from these seminaries typically transitioned into combat training for deployment in forward posts in PoK, in areas such as Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Barnala and Shawai Nalla, where final training and infiltration across the LoC were conducted. “These camps often operate with support from Pakistan’s Special Services Group (SSG) and are shielded by regular army units,” said D.K. Pathak, former director general of the Border Security Force.

In recent years, technology has transformed the operations of the Punjab–PoK terror axis, with a focus on constructing communication firewalls that facilitate undetected infiltration into India. Communication systems such as HF (high frequency) radio and digital mobile radios were maintained between command centres in Punjab and active cells in PoK, coordinated by the ISI. “Terror outfits are being supplied with military-grade long-range communication sets designed to evade Indian surveillance systems,” according to intelligence documents. “In places like Sarjal–Tehra Kalan, HF communication nodes coordinate with infiltrated terrorists across the LoC.” This is significant, as the facility lies only six kilometres from the International Border in Samba, Jammu and Kashmir, and was used to construct underground tunnels for terrorist infiltration into India. It also served as a drone launch site for transporting arms, ammunition and narcotics into Indian territory. “Pakistan’s military even facilitates telecom spillover from Pakistani service providers near the LoC to support these operatives,” said Pathak. Weapons were routed to Punjab from Afghanistan via Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stored in these facilities, and later distributed to terror operatives in PoK. “The terror infrastructure is meticulously engineered by Pakistan’s military and its notorious spy agency, with the dual aim of destabilising India and evading global scrutiny, especially from the IMF, World Bank and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).”

High-ranking military officers have been known to visit training camps in person, supervise sessions, provide logistical support and ensure alignment with strategic goals. The JeM camp Syedna Bilal in Muzaffarabad operated under the protective gaze of Pakistan’s military. Similarly, in Kotli, Hizbul Mujahideen’s Maskar Raheel Shahid base served as a guerrilla training facility, reportedly supported by the SSG. “These camps specialise in jungle warfare, arms handling and infiltration tactics,” security officials said. Another destroyed site, the Shawai Nalla Camp, trained LeT cadres in rigorous physical conditioning and combat readiness for cross-border action. The Indian military’s strikes avenged several terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in recent years. For instance, counterterror officials revealed that the Markaz Abbas camp in Kotli, destroyed during the operation, was run by Hafiz Abdul Shakoor alias Qari Zarrar, a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist involved in the 2016 Nagrota Army camp attack.

After the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, JeM’s arms cache was moved from Sialkot to Markaz Abbas, hidden deep within forested hills. “It was one of the oldest such camps, largely concealed from public view, and accessible only via a ‘kuchcha’ track leading to a secluded area. The dense forest provided a natural shield against aerial and ground surveillance,” an officer familiar with the terrain said. Notably, the camp had its own dedicated electricity line supplying power to an otherwise disconnected area.

Jammu and Kashmir police officers said the camp was once overseen by Syed Salahuddin, the Hizbul Mujahideen chief, who personally welcomed recruits and monitored training sessions. After his withdrawal, senior trainers like Abu Maaz and Abdul Rehman prepared cadres for the highly coordinated Border Action Team (BAT) attacks and infiltration missions. Following Pakistan’s placement on the FATF ‘grey list’ in 2018, known terror outfits were rebranded under civilian-sounding names such as The Resistance Front (TRF), People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) and Kashmir Tigers (KT). R.R. Swain, former DGP of Jammu and Kashmir, said, “These are nothing more than new labels for LeT and JeM, designed to mislead and portray terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir as a localised resistance movement.” In reality, the infrastructure, leadership and support systems remained intact, merely cloaked in strategic camouflage.

One of the most disturbing aspects of this apparatus has been the use of civilian infrastructure―particularly health facilities―as cover for terror operations. In Sialkot, a Hizbul Mujahideen unit operated within a Basic Health Unit (BHU) compound, hiding in plain sight. Similarly, in Tehra Kalan, a JeM detachment operated out of a similar facility, using patients and medical staff as a shield to avoid detection. “These tactics are not incidental; they are systematic,” says Lieutenant General (retd) D.P. Pandey. “By embedding terror camps in schools, public health centres and near army installations, Pakistan ensures both concealment and a human shield effect.”

Meanwhile, deep within Pakistan’s Punjab province, the ideological machinery continues to be driven by top commanders. Masood Azhar delivered a sermon at Markaz Subhan Allah in December, urging recruits to wage war against India.

With few domestic checks and a fragile political establishment, the Pakistani military remains the sole authority in decision-making, pushing for action against India. The generals’ support for low-intensity cross-border warfare raises the risk of escalation. Islamabad could use external mediation as a pretext to defuse tensions. In the present scenario, Pakistan could face international pressure if a mediation role is assumed by Russia or the US; a Chinese mediation effort might raise concerns about neutrality. However, increased Chinese military activity along India’s northern and eastern borders could also hinder Indian military options. Whether events move in that direction remains to be seen. For the record, the ongoing India–Pakistan conflagration is not the endgame―perhaps, it is just the beginning.