CDS Chauhan says that Pakistan’s hasty constitutional amendments are an admission of the failure of its Operation Sindoor.

Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan on Friday said Operation Sindoor forced Pakistan to make a constitutional amendment, which was an acknowledgment that all was not well for the neighboring country.

Talking about the progress of the proposed Joint Theater Command in India, Chouhan said the central government has given an extension to complete the exercise by May 30, 2026, but the armed forces are working to put the structure in place before the deadline.

Describing this as one of his major responsibilities, General Chauhan said that the process is now in its final stages.

Addressing the Pune Public Policy Festival, CDS said that Operation Sindoor is still on hold.

Jem Chauhan said, “The changes that have been brought about in Pakistan, including a hasty constitutional amendment, are really an admission of the fact that not everything went right for them in this operation. They found a lot of loopholes and loopholes.”

This entire amendment, the General said, essentially deals with the constitution of the federal customs courts, which is a different matter altogether.

The amendment to Article 243 of the Constitution of Pakistan has brought significant changes in the higher defense organization of that country.

He said, “This is of special importance to us in India and especially to the armed forces. If I want to limit these changes, the first is to abolish the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, a post which was probably created to promote jointness among the three services. That post has now been abolished. In its place, they have created the post of Chief of Defense Forces (CDF).”

However, Pakistan has also said that this post can be created only by the Army Chief, which is against the basic principle of jointness, General Chauhan said.

“This is a major change. The other change is the creation of a National Strategy Command. On that front, things may work well from their point of view. Earlier, they had also created an Army Rocket Forces Command. From both a conventional and a strategic point of view, this could strengthen their capabilities. They have basically concentrated power by creating these new structures,” the CDS pointed out.

“Today, the Army Chief will be responsible for land operations, joint operations with the Navy and Air Force through the CDF, as well as strategic and nuclear matters. The creation of the Rocket Forces Command adds another important layer. This, in some ways, reflects the land-centric mindset,” he said on the changes made by Pakistan.

“These are the reasons why these changes were made and these are essentially the changes that have been implemented,” he said.

“For those who do not regularly follow such developments, or do not fully understand what ‘strategic forces’ means, it primarily refers to nuclear forces or nuclear weapons,” the general explained.

He said that there is a need to incorporate several operational lessons learned after Operation Sindoor especially those related to higher defense organisation.

Citing experiences from recent military engagements including the Uri Surgical Strike, Doklam and Galwan standoffs, Balakot air strikes and Operation Sindoor, he said the Indian Armed Forces often operate through innovative, situation-specific command arrangements.

The Chief of Defense Staff said, “We are now working towards developing a standardized system that will be applicable to all contingencies.”