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Less than three weeks later, on 7 May, India launched Operation Sindoor, a calibrated and non-escalatory military response aimed at destroying cross-border terror infrastructure. The operation targeted nine terrorist base camps belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
According to the Indian Army, the strikes were carried out with precision and without civilian casualties. Four of the targeted camps were inside Pakistan, including facilities in Muridke and Bahawalpur, while five were in PoK. Among them was Markaz Tayyaba in Muridke, a place that Indian intelligence agencies have long identified as a major training center for terrorists involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The government said that about 100 terrorists were killed in the operation.
Despite India describing the actions as restrained, Pakistan responded by escalating hostilities. Drones, artillery fire and shelling targeted civilian and military installations along India’s western border. Amritsar, Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir and some parts of Rajasthan came under attack.
India retaliated immediately. The Indian Air Force attacked 11 Pakistani military installations, including major air bases at Noor Khan, Sargodha, Bholari and Skardu. Ammunition depots were destroyed and critical infrastructure was destroyed. New Delhi claimed that about 20% of the Pakistani Air Force’s infrastructure was disabled during the retaliatory strike.
The Indian Navy also remained on high alert. The offensive deployment and firing of weapons in April forced the Pakistan Navy to remain close to its own port, significantly hampering its operational status. Senior naval commanders later indicated that the credible threat of maritime action played a role in de-escalation by Pakistan.
On 10 May – less than three days after India’s counter-attack – Pakistan reached a ceasefire. While the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries spoke to formalize the arrangement, reports of ceasefire violations by Pakistani ground troops continued to emerge in the days that followed. India warned that any further violations would be met with a strong response.
In parallel with military action, New Delhi launched a series of diplomatic and economic measures to increase pressure on Islamabad. India suspended the Indus Water Treaty, closed the Attari-Wagah border and halted bilateral trade. Pakistan’s objections in international forums failed to overturn these decisions, many of which remained in place months later.
The episode also sparked an intense exchange of narratives globally. US President Donald Trump repeatedly took credit for stopping the conflict, claiming he had intervened to stop the war and facilitated talks between New Delhi and Islamabad. India publicly rejected these claims, saying that the ceasefire was a strictly bilateral decision based on military and strategic calculations, and that Pakistan had initiated the request.
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India also moved aggressively to counter what it described as a misinformation campaign by Pakistan. Islamabad’s claims that it had shot down six Indian Air Force aircraft or had emerged victorious from the standoff were refuted and dismissed by Indian officials. To reinforce its zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism, New Delhi sent seven all-party delegations across the world, projecting a unified political message against cross-border terrorism.
As 2025 approaches, the guns on the Line of Control may have fallen silent, but the broader standoff shows no signs of resolution. Restrictions on airspace continue on both sides and suspension of the Indus Water Treaty continues despite Pakistan’s protests. Operation Sindoor has reshaped the dynamics of deterrence in the region, underscoring India’s willingness to respond decisively to terrorist attacks while recalibrating the rules of engagement with its western neighbour.
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