Former army chiefs briefed on Operation Sindoor’s execution, impact

NEW new delhi: Several former regular army chiefs were on tues briefed on different aspects of performance Sindoor, including its instruction execution, strategic impact and the military’s jointmanship, on the opening day of a two-day brainstorming session involving army chief General Upendra Dwivedi and his predecessors, the army said. “Being held in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, the conclave (Chiefs’ Chintan) aims to provide a platform to leverage the institutional knowledge and experience of the former chiefs,” it said in a statement. India launched the operation in the early hours of May 7 and struck terror and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the Pahalgam terror strike in which 26 people were shot dead. It triggered a four-day military confrontation with Pakistan involving fighter jets, missiles, drones, long-range weapons and heavy artillery before the two sides reached an understanding on stopping all military action on May 10. A key highlight of the day was a comprehensive operational briefing on Operation Sindoor, including the synergised conduct of operations with the Indian Air Force (IAF) and navy, the army said. “The operation’s execution, strategic impact and jointmanship model were presented in detail to provide contextual understanding and invite insights from the former chiefs.” The retired chiefs present included Generals Manoj Pande, Bikram Singh, Deepak Kapoor, JJ Singh, NC Vij and VP Malik. Between the launch of the operation in the early hours of May 7 and the ceasefire on May 10 evening, Indian forces bombed nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK and killed at least 100 terrorists. The IAF struck two terror sites at Markaz Subhanallah in Bahawalpur and Markaz Taiba near Muridke, both in Pakistan’s Punjab province, while the army hit targets at seven places, including Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot, Sawai Nala and Syed Na Bilal in Muzaffarabad, Gulpur and Abbas in Kotli, Barnala in Bhimber, and Sarjal. On May 9-10, the IAF struck military targets in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunian, Pasrur, Sialkot, Skardu, Sargodha, Jacobabad, Bholari and Malir Cantt in Karachi. Later it emerged that India’s targeting of locations within Pakistan during the May 7-10 clash was more extensive than was previously known, with a Pakistani document acknowledging that Indian drones had struck locations ranging from Peshawar in the northwest to Hyderabad in the south. The graphics in the May 18 Pakistani document detailing India’s drone strikes on May 8, 9 and 10 listed seven locations --- Peshawar in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, Attock, Bahawalnagar, Gujrat and Jhang in Punjab province, and Chhor and Hyderabad in Sindh province --- that were not acknowledged as targets by Indian officials at any briefings held during or after the hostilities. Pakistan’s Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos, which was mounted in response to Operation Sindoor, “folded in eight hours” on May 10 belying Islamabad’s ambitious target of bringing India to its knees in 48 hours, chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan said on June 3. Jointness among the three services --- an essential prerequisite to the creation of theatre commands --- was in focus during Operation Sindoor. The forward presence of INS Vikrant, along with its Mig-29K fighters and airborne early warning helicopters, prevented hostile aircraft from coming within several hundred kms of the carrier battle group consisting of several warships. Dwivedi underlined the importance of the former chiefs’ continued engagement in shaping the ongoing transformation and future direction of the army. The former chiefs were updated on the induction of niche technologies and modernisation initiatives aimed at enhancing the force’s operational capabilities. The topics discussed included steps being taken by the army for technology absorption, the force’s contributions to the goals of Viksit Bharat, and reforms in human resource policies and welfare initiatives for veterans.