NEW DELHI: Operation Sindoor is the natural progression of the 2016 surgical strikes and the 2019 Balakot airstrikes in Pakistan, and it was conducted in a manner that forced Islamabad to ask for a ceasefire, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday, articulating India’s firm resolve to fight terrorism.“It was executed in such a way that Pakistan requested for a ceasefire, and only then have we put a pause to the operation. As I have said earlier, Operation Sindoor is not over yet. India is fully prepared to take all kinds of action against terrorism,” Singh said at an International Yoga Day function organised by the army in Udhampur.
The army’s Northern Command based in Udhampur is the nerve centre of counterterrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
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.
Singh led the armed forces’ yoga day celebrations, with around 2,500 soldiers taking part in the Northern Command event. Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi and Northern Army commander Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma were present.
“Yoga gives clarity to the people in chaos. It is an art, a science, a philosophy, and spirituality. Those who practise yoga in their daily lives have control over their body and mind. It makes us proactive, not reactive,” he said in his address, describing Operation Sindoor as a shining example of that “control.”
The Indian armed forces showed restraint, balance and precision during the operation, which is a reflection of their inner strength attained by practising yoga, he said. The operation was a clear message to Pakistan that it will face the consequences for supporting terror activities against India, he said.
Pakistan wants to weaken India from within, but it should never forget that just like Major Somnath Sharma, Brigadier Mohammad Usman too sacrificed his life for the unity and integrity of the country, Singh said referring to the bravehearts who fought valiantly during the 1947-48 India-Pakistan war. Sharma and Usman were posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra and the Maha Vir Chakra, respectively — the country’s highest and second highest wartime honours.
