Twenty-five Indian males and one Nepali male, touring with their families in Jammu & Kashmir’s popular destination Pahalgam, were cold-bloodedly killed by five Pakistani terrorists on the afternoon of 22 April 2025. The terrorists confirmed the victims were Hindu by forcing them to drop their trousers. One Muslim pony ride operator, who bravely tried to wrestle a weapon from a terrorist to help the tourists escape, was also mercilessly killed. The incident sparked nationwide shock, anger, and an overwhelming demand for retribution.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep anguish and vowed strong action. After consultations with the Home and Defence Ministers, the Chief of Defence Staff, service chiefs, and the National Security Advisor, a punitive operation was planned to target terrorist bases. The operation was codenamed Sindoor, referencing the vermillion powder worn by Hindu married women, which is removed permanently upon widowhood—symbolising the gravity of the loss.

Shortly after the Pahalgam attack, Indian Navy's carrier battle groups, surface forces, submarines and aviation assets were deployed at sea with full combat readiness. While the Navy did not do any direct action at Karachi as misreported in Indian television media, its deployment was a reminder of 1971 December when it pulverised Pakistan Navy’s assets in Karachi and blockaded Pakistan’s sea front.  

Precision Strikes Deep Inside 

At 0144 hours on 7 May 2025, nine terrorist camps belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad in Muridke and Bahawalpur, located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir, were destroyed within 25 minutes—without Indian forces crossing the border.

In retaliation, the Pakistan Army launched unprovoked artillery and small arms fire across the Line of Control (LoC), targeting Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, and Akhnoor. Thirteen Indian civilians, including four children and one soldier, were killed.

In the 14-day gap between the massacre and Operation Sindoor, Pakistan evacuated many of its 42 terrorist camps and launching pads, anticipating retaliation. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh later stated that over 100 terrorists were killed, including individuals linked to the 1999 IC-814 hijacking and the 2019 Pulwama attack. Had the operation occurred earlier, Indian forces may have eliminated thousands.

Devastation of Key Airbases

The following Pakistani airbases were heavily damaged:

• Mushaf (Sargodha) Air Base: Command HQ of the Pakistan Air Force, hosting F-16s, JF-16s, and Mirage 5As.
• Rafiqui Air Base: Hosts Chinese JF-17 and Mirage fighter squadrons.
• Murid Air Base: In Chakwal district, housing UAVs and drones used against Indian cities.
• Nur Khan Air Base: Located in Rawalpindi, 10 km from Islamabad, suffered heavy strikes.
• Rahim Yar Khan Base: Strategically near the Rajasthan border.
• Sukkur Air Base: Commissioned in 2017 to bolster coastal defences near Karachi.
• Chunian Air Base: 70 km from Lahore, a key installation.

Additional bases at Skardu, Jacobabad, and Bholari were also hit hard.

Reportedly, the Kirana Hills—near the fortified underground nuclear storage site at Mushaf-Sargodha—were struck by a BrahMos missile. According to idrw.org, the strike on Rawalpindi’s Noor Khan base sent shockwaves through the Pakistan Army leadership, especially its chief, General Asif Munir. The operation exposed critical vulnerabilities in Pakistan’s nuclear deterrence. On 10 May, during these strikes, Pakistan experienced two shallow earthquakes (magnitude 4.0 and 5.7).

According to Reddit’s r/IndianDefense Forum, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration’s emergency response aircraft (B-350 AMS) were spotted flying over Pakistan—aircraft typically used for nuclear contamination detection. This coincided with the former U.S. President Donald Trump being mentioned in the "ceasefire" developments on the evening of 10 May 2025.

Chinese Equipment Failure 

Reports indicate that Pakistan’s Chinese-supplied air defence systems—including radar and interception platforms—failed during Operation Sindoor. Platforms like HQ-9 and LY-80, which were supposed to intercept missiles, reportedly failed to detect or engage any Indian threats. The JY-27A radar system, which claims stealth detection capabilities, was ineffective.

On 8 May, when Pakistan attempted retaliation against 15 Indian locations using drones, missiles, and jets, all attacks failed. Pakistan's air defence systems, including jammers and the MQ-9, were entirely Chinese-supplied—and proved inadequate.

Few days before the terrorist attack in Pahalgam Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, dubbed as a “dangerous jihadi general," with deep-rooted Islamist ideology and inflammatory anti-India rhetoric, made a speech which reignited an aggressive narrative over Kashmir. 

Significantly, public briefings by Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, alongside Colonel Sofia Siddiqui and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, and follow-up presentations by Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai (Military), Vice Admiral A.N. Pramod (Navy), and Air Marshal A.K. Bharti (Air Force), were all very precise and importantly, clarified that despite the ceasefire announcement, Operation Sindoor had not concluded and was still in progress.

The 2016 "surgical strikes" and the 2019 Balakot bombing were examples of brilliantly planned and executed operations, but they merely remained as capability demonstrators. However, this time between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the military leadership, India seems to have made up for a lot of what was not done and was long overdue and the armed forces proved their competence. But it must be remembered that there are many anti-India terrorist groups still active in Pakistan who, now that a precedent has been set, should be targeted or sought to be extradited though negotiations, if necessary with US help. It will be a litmus test for the Pakistan government and its policy of using terrorism to further its strategic interests.

India should not be in a hurry to stop Op Sindoor and, as the government has made clear, any future terrorist action by Pakistan will be considered an "act of war" and dealt with accordingly.

(The author is a strategic affairs analyst and former spokesperson, Ministry of Defence and Indian Army. Views expressed are personal. He can be reached at wordsword02@gmail.com, LinkedIn, and @ColAnilBhat8252.)