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Operation Sindoor: Winning the perception war globally
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri displaying a picture of terrorist Hafiz Abdul Rauf and members of the Pakistani military at the funeral of terrorists killed during the Operation Sindoor strikes. ANI
India decisively won the four-day conflict against Pakistan. But in the international media and within sections of the global intelligence community, Operation Sindoor is regarded as only a qualified success.
From May 7-10, India degraded Pakistan's terror infrastructure and severely damaged its military bases. After a week of denials, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif finally admitted during a public address that India had successfully hit several Pakistani military airbases, including Nur Khan, with ballistic missiles.
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Most neutral experts have called Operation Sindoor a notable success in the fight against global terror. As David Vance, a British commentator pointed out, India is helping the West fight the global war on terrorism whose hub lies in Pakistan.
So why is the West discomfited by India's unprecedented attack, with precision-guided munitions, on a nuclear-armed country? Why has US President Donald Trump tried to downplay India's successful military response to the brutal attack on 26 tourists in Kashmir by Pakistani terrorists?
There are two key reasons. First, the Western establishment sees India, now the world's fourth largest economy, in the same light it perceived China 15 years ago: a rising power that could pose a future threat to 300 years of Western global hegemony. Any event that moderates India's rise is in the West's interest.
This, however, presents the West with a conundrum. It regards China as a far bigger geopolitical problem than a rising India. China has already risen. Its economy, at nearly $20 trillion, is two-thirds America's $30 trillion economy. India's GDP at $4.19 trillion is still small but its annual growth rate is treble America's and double China's. The gap between the three will close sooner rather than later.
The second reason for the global reaction is commercial. The US sells a significant amount of military hardware to Pakistan, including F-16 fighter jets. These performed poorly against India's new 4.5 generation stealth Rafale fighters whose lethal Scalp missiles have a 400-km standoff range. The outcome was not a good advertisement globally for US defence companies like Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Raytheon which supply military hardware around the world.
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US media immediately took the cue and downplayed India's military success in Operation Sindoor. Several US media organisations have Pakistan-origin editors. They gave the conflict a spin that called it a draw when facts pointed to a clear Pakistan defeat.
China stays out
To Pakistan's disappointment, China did not make an attempt to open up a second front on the LAC. The poor performance of Chinese military equipment and fighter jets in the conflict was blamed by Chinese military strategists on the relative incompetence of Pakistani Air Force (PAF) fighter pilots, not the quality of Chinese hardware.
India's Operation Sindoor has crossed a Lakshman Rekha in two ways. One, it has demonstrated to Pakistan that nuclear blackmail is no longer a restraining impediment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it ominously clear when he said: 'A future terror attack will be regarded as an act of war.'
This closes the option Pakistan has exercised for decades: launching terror attacks behind a nuclear shield. That shield has been breached.
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Two, the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) serves as a new deterrent. India has swifty begun to use water it was always entitled to legally under the IWT which came into force in 1960. Out of a misplaced sense of goodwill, India had not used its full legal quota of water for over six decades.
Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said candidly last week: 'As far as J&K is concerned, we have never supported the Indus Waters Treaty. We have always believed that it is the most unjust document for the people of Jammu & Kashmir. Opposing a blatantly unfair treaty (IWT) is in no way, shape, size or form warmongering. It's about correcting a historic injustice that denied the people of J&K the right to use our water for ourselves.'
Abdullah said that with the IWT suspended, hydro-electric power plants could transform the Union territory's economy. For example, he pointed out, 'The Wular lake is in North Kashmir. Civil works on the Tulbul Navigation Barrage were started in the early 1980s but had to be abandoned under pressure from Pakistan citing the Indus Waters Treaty. Now that the IWT has been suspended, we may be able to resume the project.'
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Multi-party global outreach
What India must now do falls into three buckets. First, ensure that the decision to send multi-party teams to various countries later this week does not appear as a defensive tactic. India does not owe anybody an explanation for Operation Sindoor. The various teams must focus on demonstrating with evidence the scourge of Pakistan's decades-long use of terrorism against India.
Second, the teams must present graphic proof of the success of Operation Sindoor and why it has only been paused, not completed.
Third, they must expose, with published examples, the deliberate bias in Western media coverage of the conflict and how the bias diminishes their editorial credibility.
Pakistan has spent millions of dollars in the US on lobbying firms. These firms have strong ties with Congressional leaders in both the Senate and the House of Representatives as well as with legacy media organisations. These relationships are used to airbrush evidence of Islamabad's links with UN-designated terror groups.
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India has the ability – and the goodwill – to hire the best US lobbying firms to state its case with evidence and seize control of the narrative.
Above all, the key task for the multi-party teams preparing to set off to different geographies this week is to de-hyphenate India from Pakistan.
Pakistan's GDP at $360 billion is smaller than the GDP of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Just as US wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan did not hyphenate the US with those countries, the multi-party teams must make it clear that India is dealing with what Defence Minister Rajnath Singh last week called a rogue nation.
The writer is an editor, author and publisher. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
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Hans India
16 minutes ago
- Hans India
Europe can't show any flexibility on countering terrorism: Denmark's former Ambassador backs India's stance
Denmark, which will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union this year, continues to back India's Operation Sindoor and New Delhi's call for a global, united effort to combat the threat of terrorism. Speaking exclusively to IANS, Freddy Svane, the former Danish Ambassador to India, asserted that there can be no flexibility on the European side as far as countering terrorism is concerned. Lauding India's Operation Sindoor diplomatic outreach mission, the seasoned diplomat also backed calls to put Pakistan back on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Excerpts: IANS: India is sending a very strong global message against terrorism with the visit of all-party delegations to various countries, one of which was also in Copenhagen till Saturday. How do you see this entire exercise? Freddy Svane: I think it's very important that the message that you are going to spread is listened to, heard and action taken on it. Therefore, I am pleased, having also served as Ambassador to India for more than 10 years, that India has on the backdrop of this really, really sad and deadly, inhumane Pahalgam incident, now stands up and speaks against terror. We all need to really move away from words towards actions. Therefore, the decision of the Government of India, of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to send a group of parliamentarians across the globe to speak about how we jointly fight terror is so important and very well received, also here in Denmark. IANS: Do you think that India has emerged as a stronger nation during Operation Sindoor? Freddy Svane: I think so. Even now, I asked some of the visiting Indian parliamentarians here that is that a new thing? As I have never in my life experienced that India would be sending such all-party delegations across the globe to really voice its concerns about terror and the impact of terror. I was told there was some similar thing done decades back. But the fact that India is now standing up on this is important. It will give India a special role and a special place because India now stands up against terror. That's a new normal, and nobody should be in any doubt of what will happen if terror is not stopped. We are working closely together, as a world and as one big family. IANS: Pakistan, however, isn't learning from its mistakes and continues to export terror to India... Freddy Svane: I lived in India, as you all know, for 10 years, over two periods of time. We lived with terror, we felt the impact and so forth. Obviously, we all knew that Pakistan was behind them one way or another. You might argue that there are different faces in Pakistan; there's the political and the army. But, when it boils down to terror, there can't be two faces. There's only one ugly face, and we know that Pakistan has been instigating a lot of terror attacks against India. Sadly, with this incident, the time is really ripe for a conscious joint and coordinated response to terror, and thereby also calling out Pakistan. IANS: Do you think it is high time to put Pakistan back on the FATF grey list? Freddy Svane: I think so. Terror doesn't come out of the blue. It's something that has to be financed, structured and so forth. So, it's a long, concerted action that lies behind all this terror. And therefore, you need to do whatever you can globally, also regionally, to secure that we don't have financing that will flow into the streams of terror. It has to stop. Yes, Pakistan has to be put where it belongs. So, they have to be put on that list, no doubt about that. IANS: You first met Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. India has grown tremendously under his leadership over the last decade or so... Freddy Svane: That's true. I have seen India growing. I have a huge passion for India, and so will be known by many. I was the first European Ambassador when I was in service, really to meet the honourable Prime Minister today. I met him back in May 2011 in Gujarat, and we had a very nice and long interaction. That, of course, grew over the years. When I came back as Ambassador from a second tenure in 2019, we continued, and we developed the Green Strategic Partnership. So, I think we have a very, very close and good relationship. I have seen India growing, becoming much more outward-looking. India has its own role. It's a country, a nation, which is really trying to define its own trajectory towards what is called 'Viksit Bharat' and I am a strong believer myself in 'Viksit Bharat', meaning that, of course, we have to work together and that's what Denmark and India have been doing. Under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, India has grown and will continue to grow, no doubt about that. We need a strong India, no doubt about that either. IANS: PM Modi has established himself as a very strong global leader over the years and has proved it yet again during Operation Sindoor... Freddy Svane: Yes, he has. In my interaction with the visiting parliamentary delegation, I also highlighted that when India had the G20 presidency, it rose as a global power by calling the Global South, and by also inviting the African Union into the G20. All that is a combination, the agenda of India and Prime Minister Modi to be a global player that will have a role to secure that the world will be a better, greener and more sustainable place for all of us in the future. Obviously, Prime Minister Modi, by his resolute action through Operation Sindoor, has really shown that India has drawn new red lines and that is the new normal. You should not really be in any doubt that India is a power that is ready, willing to act whenever it's needed. That's a new normal here, thanks to Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi. IANS: Do you think Operation Sindoor has boosted PM Modi's image further and added to the numerous achievements of his government in the last 11 very successful years? Freddy Svane: Of course, the fact that all party delegations are sent to various countries in various parts of the world just to speak about Operation Sindoor and the atrocities proves it. It shows that it is time now to stand up against terror and the way in which Pakistan, almost throughout its lifetime, has instigated terror attacks. India has shown that it has grown and is a global player, a very, very important player and that India can take action. You need a strong leader like Prime Minister Modi who can steer that kind of direction and make it clear that I am the man and I am the true defender of India. Therefore, his popularity, also outside of India, has grown, and there will be no person on this planet who will be in doubt of who is in charge and who is the leader of India, which is not only the most populous nation on earth but also the fourth largest economy of the world. So, Prime Minister Modi has grown and is being seen across the world as a very, very important, strong and strategic thinking leader, which is so important for all of us. A strong India, a strong Prime Minister is what we are looking for, and that is what we have got, though sadly on a very bad backdrop of this deadly Pahalgam incident. But when times are bad and things have to be dealt with, you also need someone who can move from words to actions. That has happened, and it is really fantastic. IANS: Do you see European countries on the same page as far as countering state-sponsored terrorism is concerned? Freddy Svane: This is a tricky question. I think, at least nowadays, and given whatever happened in India and given the atrocities and inhuman behaviour, there can be no flexibility on the European side as to how we have to fight terror. Terror is a global menace that we have to really fight, and whatever tool we have, we should deploy. I do hope that, with this tour of Indian parliamentary groups, there is a common understanding and a kind of awareness that we have to move away from words to actions. Of course, I will be following a little bit closely what will come out of all these visits to various countries - will there be more coordinated, more joint efforts to fight terror, or will we just see another range of words and no actions? I think the answer lies very much in the way in which India will take these visits and say we have sent all party delegations to these countries, important countries across the globe, and now there is a common sense that we have to do and deal with terror and let's propose some actions. So, I hope that India will come up with that kind of action programme, saying this is what we need to do, and hopefully, countries not just in Europe but also other places on this planet will join in and say terror is a global menace and we have to fight it. Terror will happen as long as we are not united. Now we seem to be united, thanks to India and Prime Minister Modi. IANS: Pakistan is left with very few 'all-weather friends', is it not high time that these countries too realise that they are backing a terror state? Freddy Svane: Yeah, but I'm not surprised that some countries have placed themselves in that camp. I think we all have to get together and find and define the common position because terror, regardless of how we define what terror is, and what kind of components will go into terror, cannot be in any country, any population, or any people's interests to face the menace of terror. Therefore, we have to stand together. I hope that the diplomatic outreach will at least secure that more and more countries will join the camp of India and say, enough is enough. Let's now move from words, diplomatically framed words, to actions. Therefore, as I said, I hope, as a former Ambassador to India, that India and Prime Minister Modi will stand up and say this is the catalogue of actions we need to take. IANS: What was your first reaction on hearing about the extradition of 2008 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana to India, who was also prosecuted for providing material support for a terror attack in Denmark? Freddy Svane: I was so relieved. I think it shows that justice will prevail at some point in time, and those who are committing terror and terror-related activities will be brought to justice. There should be no safe haven for terrorists. When I saw the extradition of Rana to India, I felt relieved because India has been pushing for that for many, many years, and finally, the extradition happened. I do hope that it sends a very strong message across that you can't hide, use whatever kind of institutional tool that you might access to prevent yourself from being brought to justice. So, it was a great, great, great achievement, I will say! IANS: Denmark is also the only country in the world with which India has a Green Strategic Partnership. How do you see this bilateral relationship progressing? Freddy Svane: I don't see any limits to it. If I may say so. It all started with my first meeting with the honourable Chief Minister, now Prime Minister, back in May 2011 in Gujarat. The two of us discussed how we could work together at that time. I was the Danish Ambassador, but we had a kind of shared vision, a mission to move towards a greener and sustainable development. In that context, we developed this kind of idea. We had, in fact, in 2012-13 held a number of seminars, workshops in Gujarat's Gandhinagar, where we put focus on renewables, wind, water and so forth. I see there's a direct line between this and the fact that we have this green strategic partnership, I think it combines -- as honourable Prime Minister has said many times -- it combines the skills of India and the skills of Denmark. India has a lot of skills. I went to Khavda, the Adani big project, last year. I was so blown away by the magnitude and the kind of strategy aligned behind it. It was an eye-opener, and it shows that the green transition, green strategic cooperation, whatever we call it, is so important. It's not only good for bilateral relations but a must for all of us. We need to secure that we have a better and more sustainable world so that we can look into the future. Our next generations will be suffering if we don't crack this climate crisis. Therefore, I was so pleased when honourable Prime Minister Modi came to Denmark, and we could really take the green strategic partnership forward, which is so important. I do hope that it will also inspire others because what can be done bilaterally is not enough. It calls for a kind of global action, like the fight against terror.
India Today
18 minutes ago
- India Today
Even Pak did it: Congress reiterates demand for Parliament session on Op Sindoor
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday reiterated his party's demand for a special session of Parliament to discuss Operation Sindoor and the terror attack in Pahalgam. Addressing reporters, Kharge said that the Centre should take a cue from Pakistan, which has convened its Parliament and held deliberations on the developments, and show similar seriousness in addressing the said that the entire nation stands with the armed forces and called for unity on issues concerning national security. He urged all political leaders to exercise restraint and avoid politicising military a veiled swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress President said, "We must know when to speak what. There should be unity in national matters and a focus on defeating our opponents. All leaders across the country should remain silent regarding matters of national security. It's better to understand what has happened before speaking about it. There should be no election campaign before the delegation reports are out. PM Modi should refrain from giving election speeches. There is no need for self-praise. The entire nation stands with our armed forces." He further questioned the Prime Minister's public remarks on the military operation, noting that the PM had earlier stated he had given full authority to the armed forces. "Why is he speaking again now? The Prime Minister should not make self-glorifying speeches. We have said, let's convene Parliament and talk. Even Pakistan has convened its Parliament and is holding discussions. None of us will speak against the nation," Kharge remarks came a day after he accused the BJP-led government of misleading the nation over Operation Sindoor. In a post on social media, the Congress chief alleged that instead of offering clarity on US President Donald Trump taking credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Prime Minister Modi was "on an election blitz, taking personal credit for the valour of the armed forces".He also referred to the interview given by India's Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, in Singapore, saying that the revelations raised important questions about defence preparedness."In the wake of the remarks made by the CDS in Singapore in an interview, there are some very important questions which need to be asked. These can only be asked if a Special Session of the Parliament is immediately convened. The Modi Government has misled the nation. The fog of war is now clearing," Kharge Chauhan, who was in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue, admitted in an interview with Bloomberg for the first time that an unspecified number of Indian fighter jets were downed during the recent hostilities with India's Operation Sindoor, which was launched after the Pahalgam attacks, Pakistan had claimed that it had downed six Indian fighter jets, a claim India had previously Chauhan categorically rejected Pakistan's assertion that it had shot down six Indian jets, including four Rafales, calling it 'absolutely incorrect'."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 to the comments, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that Defence MInister Rajanth Singh should have informed the political parties about the losses before a military official revealed them InMust Watch
NDTV
23 minutes ago
- NDTV
Operation Sindoor Impact: Air India To Drop Turkish Jet Maintenance Firm
New Delhi: Air India is set to wind up its association with Turkish Technic, a leading global aviation service provider, that provides comprehensive maintenance for Boeing 777 aircraft in the airline's fleet. ''If there is a concern about continuing to do business in this fashion, then we'll find alternatives,'' said Campbell Wilson, Air India's CEO and MD, who confirmed to NDTV that the airline was ending its association with Turkish Technic. ''I think we want to respect public sentiment.'' The Air India announcement comes within days of the Civil Aviation Ministry telling IndiGo, India's largest airline, that it will not be allowed to operate two aircraft that it has wet-leased from Turkish Airlines beyond three months. Earlier, the government had cancelled the security clearance of Celebi, a Turkey-linked aviation ground handling services company that has been present in nine airports in the country. The government's moves are a reaction to Turkey's support for Pakistan, which New Delhi has targeted with strikes on terror centres and air bases during Operation Sindoor. Turkish-made drones were also used by Pakistan in military operations against India. New Delhi's message is clear - there cannot, presently, be any 'business as usual' arrangement with Turkish companies given Ankara's support for Pakistan. Explaining the tie-up with Turkish Technic, Mr Wilson said, ''We have committed some aircraft which are already under maintenance. And for alternatives that are about to go into maintenance, we're looking for alternative providers to perform the service instead.'' Maintenance, repair and overhaul services for Air India's long-haul Boeing 777 fleet are presently carried out at the Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), a public sector undertaking which belongs to the government. Some aircraft are also being sent to Abu Dhabi and Singapore. "AIESL was really the only game in town. And they don't have the capacity to perform the basic maintenance as well as the rehabilitation and retrofit that we're currently undertaking. So we've had to send aircraft out of India and some to AIESL, into many locations." The recent military hostilities between India and Pakistan have also had a direct bearing on Air India's long-haul services. With airspace over Pakistan shut to Indian-owned airlines, some of Air India's flights to North America are having to operate on different, longer routes. Some non-stop services have now become one-stop flights to refuel aircraft. "There is a significant additional cost,'' says Mr Wilson. "And ultimately, it does get passed on to the consumer, whether it's because there are fewer seats available to be offered and so the remaining seats have higher demand, or we just pass through the actual cost increase that we're incurring. So we all hope that this normalises as quickly as possible, but it's out of our hands." Mr Wilson, though, disagrees with suggestions that the airspace ban over Pakistan has significantly disrupted Air India's long-haul offerings. "So I'd push back on that. I think there are only three cities that we're not currently operating nonstop. Every other flight that we have previously operated is continuing to operate nonstop. So the customer proposition of a convenient nonstop service by an Indian carrier to North America remains." That said, some flights are taking longer -- between an hour to three hours, depending on the city where the aircraft is headed. "But that is still much more convenient than transiting through somewhere in between," says Mr Campbell.
