Rajnath appreciates US for backing India's fight against terror
This was their first conversation after India launched Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, New Delhi's direct military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror strike.
Singh also told Hegseth that India reserves the right to respond to cross-border terrorism.
'Glad to speak with the US @SecDef Mr. @PeteHegseth today. Excellent discussion to review the ongoing and new initiatives to further deepen India-US defence partnership and strengthen cooperation in capacity building. Conveyed my deep appreciation for the unwavering support extended by the US to India in its fight against terrorism. Looking forward to meeting him at an early date,' Singh wrote on X after the conversation.
Speaking on Operation Sindoor, Singh said India reserves the right to respond to and defend against terrorism and pre-empt as well as deter any further cross-border attacks, people aware of the matter said on condition of anonymity.
He also told Hegseth that India's actions during the four-day clash were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and focused on disabling terrorist infrastructure, the people added.
The two leaders had last spoken on May 1 when Singh told Hegseth that the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed had exposed Pakistan as a rogue state that is destabilising the region and the world can no longer turn a blind eye to terrorism.
India launched Operation Sindoor 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. 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.
The two leaders also discussed a wide canvas of issues ranging from long-term cooperation in the defence sector, including training and military exchanges, to expanding the industry collaboration, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.
'They agreed to further build upon the momentum of this critical and mutually beneficial partnership across all its pillars such as interoperability, integration of defence industrial supply chains, logistics sharing, increased joint military exercises and cooperation with other like-minded partners,' it said.
Hegseth invited Singh to the US for talks to take the bilateral defence partnership forward.
Between the launch of the operation in the early hours of May 7 and the ceasefire on May 10 evening, Indian forces bombed nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK and killed at least 100 terrorists. The Indian Air Force (IAF) struck two terror sites at Markaz Subhanallah in Bahawalpur and Markaz Taiba near Muridke, both in Pakistan's Punjab province, while the army hit targets at seven places, including Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot, Sawai Nala and Syed Na Bilal in Muzaffarabad, Gulpur and Abbas in Kotli, Barnala in Bhimber, and Sarjal.
On May 9-10, the IAF struck military targets in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunian, Pasrur, Sialkot, Skardu, Sargodha, Jacobabad, Bholari and Malir Cantt in Karachi. Later it emerged that India's targeting of locations within Pakistan during the May 7-10 clash was more extensive than was previously known, with a Pakistani document acknowledging that Indian drones had struck locations ranging from Peshawar in the northwest to Hyderabad in the south.
The graphics in the May 18 Pakistani document detailing India's drone strikes on May 8, 9 and 10 listed seven locations --- Peshawar in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, Attock, Bahawalnagar, Gujrat and Jhang in Punjab province, and Chhor and Hyderabad in Sindh province --- that were not acknowledged as targets by Indian officials at any briefings held during or after the hostilities.
Pakistan's Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos, which was mounted in response to Operation Sindoor, 'folded in eight hours' on May 10 belying Islamabad's ambitious target of bringing India to its knees in 48 hours, chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan said on June 3.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
3 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Dharam K Singh: My family was placed under house arrest
Dharam Kumar Singh was 10 when the Quit India Movement swept across the country in 1942. His grandfather, father and uncles were deeply involved in mobilising people against the British in Shivli and Rasoolabad regions, then part of Kanpur. 'When the authorities failed to trace my father and others, our entire family was placed under house arrest,' he that time, bands of children aiding the freedom movement were popularly called the Vanar Sena. 'I was part of one such group in my village. Our role was to raise patriotic slogans, distribute pamphlets, paste posters, and carry food to revolutionaries in hiding, including my father, all while evading British spies,' he said. Eventually, the chowkidar of the village, Tendi Khurd in Shivli, alerted the police. 'I too was placed under house arrest, along with my siblings, for over three months,' he vision of independent India that Singh had cherished, however, remains unfulfilled, he claimed. 'Crime has risen sharply, and corruption has reached alarming levels. Although we have made remarkable economic progress, crime and corruption have also grown alongside it.' Dharam K Singh: My family was placed under house arrest
The Hindu
3 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Defence personnel awarded gallantry medals for success of Operation Sindoor
The Union government on Thursday (August 14, 2025) announced gallantry awards for armed forces personnel, including those who played a key role in the success of Operation Sindoor. President Droupadi Murmu approved 127 gallantry awards and 40 distinguished service awards for personnel of the armed forces and the Central Armed Police Forces on the eve of Independence Day, according to the Union Ministry of Defence. The President also approved Tatrakshak Medals to five Indian Coast Guard personnel. The awards include four Kirti Chakras; 15 Vir Chakras; 16 Shaurya Chakras; two Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry); 58 Sena Medals (Gallantry); six Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry); 26 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry); seven Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medals; nine Uttam Yudh Seva Medals; and 24 Yudh Seva Medals. Sub-Inspector Mohd Imteyaj and Constable Deepak Chingakham of the Border Security Force (BSF) were posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra in recognition of their exceptional courage and selfless leadership in the face of an adverse situation, the BSF said. The government has awarded 58 Sena Medals to the Indian Army, including to two Agniveers. Six Nao Sena medals have been awarded to Indian Navy personnel, and 26 Vayu Sena medals to Indian Air Force personnel. The medals have been awarded for brave contribution in the service of the nation during Operation Sindoor, and other operations conducted by the armed forces. The list of awardees includes pilots, officers, and jawans operating the S-400 air defence system. The Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal has been awarded to Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, Director General of Military Operations for Operation Sindoor; Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh (Retd.), Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command; Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari, Vice Chief of the Air Staff; Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command; Air Marshal Jeetandra Mishra, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command; and Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, Director General, Air Operations. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) received 23 Gallantry Medals, the highest among Central Armed Police Forces, including three Shaurya Chakras and 20 Gallantry Medals for valour in Jammu & Kashmir, and in anti-Maoist operations. On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor, during which a series of missile strikes targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam. The operation targeted nine locations, including terror camps in Muridke, a Lashkar-e-Taiba stronghold, and Bahawalpur, the Jaish-e-Mohammed headquarters. The President also approved 290 Mention-in-Despatches for 115 personnel of the Indian Army, five personnel of the Indian Navy, 167 personnel of the Indian Air Force, and three personnel of the Border Roads Development Board. During Operation Sindoor, India's air defence systems shot down six Pakistani aircraft, while air-to-ground missiles struck airbases and other defence installations in the neighbouring country, causing significant damage, Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh recently said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
3 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Best of BS Opinion: India at 79: A test of resilience, reform, reckoning
India's 79th Independence Day arrives as both a celebration and a stocktake. The unity that has defined the Republic has been tested repeatedly, most recently during Operation Sindoor, when India retaliated to a terror strike in Pahalgam by targeting Pakistan-based terror and military infrastructure. The response showcased a sharper counterterrorism posture, but the moment also underlines wider challenges, notes our first editorial. India's economic strength, the fastest-growing among large economies, has lifted millions out of poverty, yet the goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047 demands sustained growth in a tougher global climate. Meanwhile, corporate governance is confronting its own reckoning. At the 2025 Annual Directors Conclave, Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey reminded independent directors they are not 'honorary appointees or friendly critics.' His warning follows the Gensol Engineering case. Similar failures at Satyam, IL&FS, Yes Bank, and Paytm Payments Bank have exposed a culture where promoter influence often overrides oversight, highlights our second editorial. With 549 voluntary resignations in FY25, including 154 this year, the environment for corporate oversight is shifting fast. K P Krishnan writes on India's leading financial regulators, RBI, Sebi, and Irdai, which continue to be led by former IAS officers, reflecting a comfort with administrative experience but also an institutional shortfall. In mature economies, leadership is drawn from academia, industry, and public administration, bringing varied perspectives. India's absence of transparent, rule-based processes has made it harder for outsiders to thrive. Implementing reforms like those in the draft Indian Financial Code could open the field and create more resilient regulatory institutions. Domestic institutional investors have overtaken foreign institutional investors in equity holdings for the first time in 25 years, with Rs 14 trillion in equities versus FIIs' Rs 10 trillion. Since 2014-15, DIIs have grown at an average 42 per cent annually, fuelled by retail participation and steady inflows. FIIs, once the dominant market movers, have seen their correlation with the Sensex fade, while DIIs now set the tone, argues Janak Raj. High valuations may keep foreign flows muted, leaving domestic money as the primary force in the market. Finally, in To Lose a War: The Fall and Rise of the Taliban, reviewed by Elliot Ackerman, veteran correspondent Jon Lee Anderson follows Afghanistan's story from the Taliban's ouster in 2001 to their return in 2021. Drawing on two decades of frontline reporting, Anderson captures early optimism, mounting insurgency, and the missteps that shaped the war's outcome. The book closes with the lesson that withdrawing from reconstruction, as in the 1980s, can invite renewed instability, a warning with resonance far beyond Afghanistan. Stay tuned!
