Operation Sindoor: How India's Naval Readiness in Arabian Sea Deterred Pakistan During Military Conflict

Director General Military Operations Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai revealed that the Indian Navy was strategically positioned in the Arabian Sea, ready for action when Pakistan called for a cessation of hostilities following four days of military conflict in May that had raised global concerns.

India conducted Operation Sindoor, consisting of precision strikes targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir in May. These operations were launched in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that resulted in 26 casualties.

"The Indian Navy was also very much in action, ladies and gentlemen. And this is possibly a fact that is not very well known-that the Navy had sailed into the Arabian Sea, and when the DGMO spoke, it was very well poised," Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai stated during his address on Operation Sindoor at the United Nations Troop Contributing Countries' Chiefs' Conclave.

The senior military officer emphasized that had Pakistan not backed down, the consequences would have been severe for the neighboring nation.

"Had the enemy decided to take it any further, it could have been catastrophic for them, and not only from the sea but from other dimensions as well," he warned.

"Between April 22 and the night of May 6-7, the actions were evolving and unfolding. We were prioritizing our targets. We carried out certain precautionary deployments on our borders to make sure that the enemy was deterred. There were numerous inter-service government departments and agencies that were coordinating," Lt Gen Ghai explained.

Lt Gen Ghai noted that the final selection of targets was conducted from an extensive pool that underwent thorough military scrutiny.

"While all this was happening, there was a very harmonized and proactive information warfare campaign that was also unfolding," he added.

According to Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, Pakistan reportedly suffered over 100 military casualties along the Line of Control during Operation Sindoor, based on posthumous awards conferred by Pakistan's military.

"Pakistanis possibly unwittingly let out their awards list on August 14, and the number of posthumous awards that they awarded suggests to us now that their casualties on the LoC were also in excess of 100," he stated, adding that drone attacks against India had been a "dismal failure."

The officer highlighted a significant shift in India's counter-terrorism approach.

"Our Prime Minister has spoken about it. These are the three things he said: Terror attacks are an act of war, and there will be decisive retaliation; we will not succumb to nuclear blackmail; and there is no distinction between terrorists and sponsors of terrorism," he emphasized.

In July, Home Minister Amit Shah informed parliament that three terrorists responsible for civilian deaths in Pahalgam had been eliminated by security forces during Operation Mahadev.

"The perpetrators of the attack at Pahalgam, the Indian Army will chase them to the depths of hell-and we did. It took us 96 days, but we did not let them rest. When these three were found and eliminated, it seemed as if they were exhausted from running and were very malnourished... The Home Minister has spoken about this in the Indian Parliament. They were eliminated, and justice was served," Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai concluded.