Indian Army announces Operation Sindoor, says ?justice is served? for Pahalgam terror attack

Announcing the launch of ?Operation Sindoor?, the Press Information Bureau in a statement released at 1.44 am on 7 May, 2025, said Indian Armed Forces ?a little while ago? hit terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.

The statement added that a total of nine sites have been targeted and that the actions of the Indian armed forces have been ?focused, measured and non-escalatory? in nature.

Further, it said that ?no Pakistani military facilities have been targeted?.

The statement was followed with a post on X by the Additional Directorate General of Public Information, IHQ of MoD (Army), which read: ?Justice is Served. Jai Hind.? The post was accompanied by an image and the hashtag: ?PahalgamTerrorAttack?.

A little over 15 minutes before PIB released the statement, the Army?s handle on X had posted a video showing what appeared to be military preparedness drills with the caption: ?Ready to Strike, Trained to Win?.

The operation dubbed ?Sindoor? comes a fortnight after terrorists shot and killed 25 Indians and a Nepalese national at Baisaran in Kashmir?s Pahalgam. The next day, the Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS) met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posted on X: ?The cunning enemy has carried out cowardly attacks on five locations in Pakistan. Pakistan has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war imposed by India, and a forceful response is being given.?

?The entire nation stands with the Pakistani armed forces, and the morale and spirit of the entire Pakistani nation are high. The Pakistani nation and the Pakistani armed forces know how to deal with the enemy. We will never allow the enemy to succeed in their nefarious goals,? the post further said.

Pakistani media reports quoted DG ISPR as saying that retaliatory strikes on ground and by air are underway. The DG ISPR also claimed that there have been civilian casualties in the attack by India, and targets included at least one mosque in Bahawalpur. He further said that the attacks have taken place from the Indian air space in Bahawalpur?s Ahmed East area, Kotli, Muzaffarabad and Muridke (a stronghold of Lashkar-e-Taiba), and Bagh.

India explicitly avoided targeting civilians.

The Ministry of Defence issued a statement announcing that the Indian armed forces had launched strikes at terrorist infrastructure.

?A little while ago, the Indian Armed Forces launched ?OPERATION SINDOOR?, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed Altogether, nine (9) sites have been targeted,? the Defence Ministry said in the statement.

?Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution,? it added.

These steps come in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were killed 22 April.

?We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable,? the defence ministry statement added.

Reports coming in from Pakistan said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has issued a statement saying that India has struck three places from air: Bahawalpur, Kotli, and Muzaffarabad.

?All planes of Pakistan Air Force are airborne. All strikes were made by India from its own airspace. Pakistan will respond to it at a time and place of its own choosing. It will not go unanswered,? it said. ?The temporary pleasure of India will be replaced by enduring grief.?

The Indian armed forces? action comes in the wake of the Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were killed on 22 April.

?We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable,? the defence ministry statement added.

Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Kiren Rijiju, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma were among those who hailed the operation. Rajnath Singh, the Defence Minister, posted ?Bharat Mata Ki Jai?.

Shortly after the strikes on terror bases, the Indian Army posted: ?Justice is served. Jai Hind!? It was later followed by a short video clip with the message ?Ready to Strike, Trained to Win?.

(greekcitytimes.com)