Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), stated on Tuesday that the Indian Navy was fully deployed and ready to fight in the Arabian Sea when Pakistan called for a ceasefire after four days of heavy fighting in May.
At the United Nations Troop Contributing Countries (UNTCC) Chiefs’ Conclave, Lt Gen Ghai talked about Operation Sindoor, which was India’s precise attacks on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in May of this year. The operation started because of the April 22 terrorist incident in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians.
“Also, ladies and gentlemen, the Indian Navy was highly active. Lt Gen Ghai stated, “And this is probably not a well-known fact: the Navy had sailed into the Arabian Sea, and when the DGMO spoke, it was very well poised.”
He also said that Pakistan’s decision to call for an end to hostilities probably stopped a far bigger war from happening.
Ghai cautioned, “If the enemy had decided to go any further, it could have been disastrous for them, not just from the sea but from other dimensions as well.”
Operation Sindoor: India’s Strong Response
Lt. Gen. Ghai says that Operation Sindoor took place between April 22 and the night of May 6–7, after the horrific terrorist incident in Pahalgam.
During this time, the Indian military did target prioritizing and precision strikes, as well as putting troops along the borders as a precaution to stop any escalation by Pakistan.
“From April 22 to the night of May 6–7, everything were changing and happening. We were putting our goals in order of importance. We sent some extra troops on our borders to make sure the enemy didn’t attack. “There were a lot of government departments and agencies from different services working together closely,” he said.
After the Army and intelligence agencies carefully looked at a lot of possible places, they chose the final targets from a vast pool of candidates.
Lt. Gen. Ghai added, “At the same time, there was a very coordinated and proactive information warfare campaign going on.”
A change in India’s approach to fighting terrorism
Lt Gen Ghai said that India’s response to terrorism has changed in a “doctrinal” way.
“Our Prime Minister has talked about it. He said these three things:
Terrorist assaults are acts of war, and there will be a strong response.
We shall not give in to threats of nuclear war.
He said that there is no difference between terrorists and those who support terrorism.
This is a new chapter in India’s counter-terrorism policy, which says that both state and non-state actors should be held equally responsible for any act of terror against India.
Justice for the Terror Victims in Pahalgam
Lt Gen Ghai also talked about Home Minister Amit Shah’s speech in Parliament in July, when Shah said that security personnel had killed three terrorists who were responsible for the Pahalgam attack during Operation Mahadev.
“The people who attacked Pahalgam will be hunted down by the Indian Army to the ends of hell, and we did.” Ghai remarked, “We did not let them rest for 96 days.”
“When these three were found and killed, they looked like they were tired from running and not getting enough food…” They were killed, and justice was done.
The Indian Army’s decision to kill these terrorists showed how serious they were about fighting terrorism and protecting the country. It also showed the government’s dedication to national security and its zero-tolerance policy toward terrorism.