Understood mistakes, rectified them: Top General reflects on Op Sindoor losses
India's top military general has admitted for the first time that an unspecified number of its fighter jets were downed during the hostilities with Pakistan, but asserted that the armed forces rectified its mistakes quickly to hit Islamabad again.In an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, however, dismissed the Pakistan Prime Minister's claims that it shot down six Indian jets, including four Rafales, as "absolutely incorrect". advertisement"What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down... Why they were down, what mistakes were made - that are important. Numbers are not important," General Chauhan said.'QUICK TO REMEDY TACTICAL MISTAKES'
However, the Chief of Defence Staff said the armed forces were quick to analyse the "tactical mistakes", remedy them, and again target Pakistan two days later as part of Operation Sindoor."The good part is that we are able to understand the tactical mistake which we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days and flew all our jets again, targeting at long range," General Chauhan said.The remarks are the most direct by the army so far on losses suffered during the hostilities, which came as India destroyed nine terror camps deep inside Pakistan. It was in response to the horrific Pahalgam attack, which left 25 tourists dead.advertisementAs Pakistan retaliated by launching a wave of drone attacks targeting Indian military facilities and border towns, the armed forces struck 11 vital airbases with long-range BrahMos missiles.Previously, the armed forces had deflected questions about Indian jets being shot down by Pakistan. Addressing a press conference, Air Marshal AK Bharti, Director General of Air Operations (DGAO), said "losses are a part of any combat scenario". However, he said all Indian pilots "were back"."We are in a combat scenario and losses are a part of it. Question is have we achieved our objective? Answer is a thumping yes. At this time, I would not like to comment on that (loss of jets) as we are still in combat and give advantage to adversary. All our pilots are back home," he said.ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS, CEASEFIRE WITH PAKThe Chief of Defence Staff also made it clear that the conflict never came close to a nuclear war, while underscoring that "channels of communication" with Pakistan were always open to control the situation.This flies in the face of US President Donald Trump's repeated assertion that he avoided a potential nuclear disaster by mediating the ceasefire between India and Pakistan."I personally feel that there is a lot of space between conduct of conventional operations and the nuclear threshold," General Chauhan told Bloomberg.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
22 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Over 2,000 illegal immigrants ‘pushed back' into Bangladesh since Operation Sindoor
More than 2,000 alleged illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are estimated to have been 'pushed back' across the border by Indian authorities since Operation Sindoor began in the early hours of May 7, following a nationwide verification exercise, Government sources told The Indian Express. During the same period, they said, a similar number of immigrants showed up near the India-Bangladesh border voluntarily to cross over amid the fear generated by the crackdown. According to the sources, the Government action is taking place along the Bangladesh border in Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam. Gujarat was among the first to begin the round-up and has accounted for nearly half of all those who have been 'pushed back', they said. Delhi and Haryana, too, have sent back immigrants in large numbers with the rest being rounded up from Assam, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, the sources said. 'It is an ongoing process and all states which have cities with significant economic activity are rounding up such illegal immigrants after verification of their documents. A focused effort began in this direction following the Pahalgam attacks in April. Since Operation Sindoor, it has picked up pace. Gujarat was the first off the blocks followed by Delhi and Haryana. More states will begin sending soon. The instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs are clear in this regard and the states, too, are cooperating,' a senior Government source said. According to the source, these alleged illegal immigrants are being ferried to the borders in IAF aircraft from various locations and handed over to the BSF to be held in makeshift camps along the border. They are provided food and some Bangladeshi currency, if needed, and 'pushed back' into their country after a few hours of detention, the source said. Referring to the action happening along the border in Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam, a security establishment officer said, 'There is a perception that these states have been chosen because they are BJP-ruled. But that is not true. BJP is a small minority in Meghalaya. These states were chosen because of the ease in pushing back from these states. In West Bengal, because of the nature of the border, which often passes through the middle of villages or even houses, and the familial connections on either side, there was fear of law and order issues cropping up.' According to another official, just under 2,000 Bangladeshi immigrants have showed up on the border voluntarily to cross over. 'Because of largescale reporting in the media about a crackdown, many illegal immigrants from Bangladesh are voluntarily leaving the country for the fear of being detained,' the official said. According to sources, the operation has been running smoothly so far with the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) 'cooperating' with their Indian counterparts. 'It is because most of those who have been rounded up are not resisting deportation. Barring those who came to India decades ago, most are willing to go back. Once rounded up and taken to the border, they call up their relatives in Bangladesh who come to pick them up. Most of them know that once they are rounded up, they will end up in detention centres or jails. A majority of them are poor labourers with no means to fight a legal battle. They prefer to go back to their families,' another security establishment officer said. Sources, however, said they expect some official unease in Bangladesh once the numbers swell to 10,000 or 20,000 a week. 'This is only a temporary solution. Such exercises, albeit on a much smaller scale, have been carried out in the past as well, even under the UPA government. But these illegal immigrants often come back once the heat lowers. That is why the Government is pushing for biometric capture of all such immigrants who are being pushed back and integration with larger immigration data,' an official said.
Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Time of India
With Sindoor focus, BJP eyes TMC's core female vote bank
With Sindoor focus, BJP eyes TMC's core female vote bank KOLKATA: The era of "appeasement politics" in Bengal is over as BJP primes itself to form the next government in 2026 with the supportThe era of 'appeasement politics' in Bengal is over as BJP primes itself to form the next government in 2026 with the support of its core Hindu constituency and women voters moving away from CM Mamata Banerjee 's party, home minister Amit Shah said Sunday while echoing a sentiment ignited by PM Narendra Modi in north Bengal last week. 'Bengal's women won't tolerate any insult to sindoor,' Shah declared at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium. He said CM Mamata taking potshots at PM Modi amid India's Operation Sindoor targeting terrorist sites in Pakistan indicated whose side she was on. 'It would have been better if she were pained by Bengalis getting killed (in violence within Bengal). She didn't utter a word then.' Shah alleged that the recent violence in Murshidabad linked to anti-waqf law protests was a 'state-sponsored' riot. 'The state government did not seek help from BSF despite repeated alerts from us. Finally, BSF intervened after the high court's order. Trinamool netas were accusing BSF and encouraging the rioters…The CM opposed the waqf amendments. Who was she trying to protect?' The home minister said the next elections in Bengal were not only about Bengal's future, but also national security. 'Mamata Banerjee has opened the nation's borders to Bangladeshis. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Stop dit in je schoenen! Op dag 3 zakte m'n lievelingsbroek al af (ik stond paf!) Undo She is allowing infiltration. We asked her for land to fence the gaps. She isn't providing it so that infiltration continues, her vote bank keeps growing, and her nephew becomes the CM. But this is not going to happen,' he said. Shah said it was painful to see Bengal plumb the depths, first under Left Front's governance, and now TMC . 'For years, Bengal led India in every field. But then came the communists, and after that, Mamata Didi took charge with the slogan of 'Maa, Mati, Manush'. She has since turned this great land into the hub of infiltration, corruption, atrocities on women, bomb blasts and injustice against Hindus,' he said. 'During elections and even after Didi's victory, hundreds of BJP workers were brutally killed. Didi, how long will you hide them? Mark my words — your time is over.' Shah said under UPA, Bengal received Rs 2.09 lakh crore, whereas under Modi, it received Rs 8.27 lakh crore in 10 years. But the money was 'looted by the TMC syndicate', he said. 'Even if Modiji sends Rs 50 lakh crore, it won't reach the people unless BJP is in government here. To get Modiji's benefits and homes, you must bring a BJP government in Bengal,' Shah told the crowd. He later inaugurated a Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Rajarhat.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Pak Hindu refugees in Delhi discuss future as eviction looms
New Delhi: Pakistani Hindu refugees from various Delhi settlements, fearing eviction, held a large panchayat to discuss their future. These Sindhi Hindu families, who fled religious persecution in Pakistan and were granted Indian citizenship last year, now feel betrayed. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now They live in five camps across Delhi, including part of Majnu Ka Tila near the Yamuna floodplain. Though no eviction notices have been issued by DDA, the community learned through the media about a recent high court ruling allowing the clearance of the Majnu Ka Tila settlement. "Where will we go? We were running, fleeing for our lives, and India is the only nation where we, as Hindus, could find safety. Now, even if we won't find a place to live here, where are we supposed to go? We don't have much education, cannot afford a lawyer, and were living off the help of our Hindu brothers here. Somehow, we managed to earn a living here, managed to send our children to school, to give them a life that we could never dream of. Now, this decision of the court has come as a knife to our hearts," said Sukhnandan, pradhan of Majnu Ka Tila, who came to India in 2012 and settled on vacant land next to a gurdwara. At the meeting, and a heated one, held at another settlement on the Yamuna floodplain near Signature Bridge, high-pitched discussions were on. Representatives from all six settlement camps in Delhi — Majnu Ka Tila, Signature Bridge, Adarsh Nagar, Bhatti Mines, Rohini Sector 11 and Rohini Sector 25 — had gathered there to discuss future action. They plan to meet chief minister Rekha Gupta to explore resettlement options. Last year, the community secured a temporary stay from the high court when eviction notices were first served, but the court recently upheld the DDA's eviction order. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "The new reports say that we will be evicted from the floodplain. That's two of our camps. It does not talk about our rehabilitation. We will seek time from Delhi's CM tomorrow, if required, even hold protests," said Dharamveer Bagri, another settler at Majnu Ka Tila, who hailed from Hyderabad in Sindh, Pakistan. Last July, days after some of them were granted citizenship, Delhi Development Authority issued the camp dwellers a notice, asking them to vacate their houses in 24 hours, pending a demolition drive scheduled for July 13 and 14. DDA's notice stated that the land was part of the Yamuna floodplain and all encroachments on river land adjacent to the gurudwara were ordered to be cleared by the National Green Tribunal. In an order dated May 30 by Justice Dharmesh Sharma, the court observed that it had earlier asked the Union of India, DDA, etc., to relocate and rehabilitate refugees on Yamuna floodplain. The court, however, noted that the effort bore no fruit. It also said that the court cannot undertake the exercise of framing a policy to ameliorate the plight of refugees.
