Latest news with #POJK
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First Post
15-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
‘India didn't seek war, imposed high costs to set new normal': Ex-DGMO on Operation Sindoor
With Operation Sindoor, India did not seek a war, but sought to set a new normal for Pakistan by imposing costs higher than what it could fathom, according to Lieutenant General (Retired) Vinod Bhatia, a former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO). read more With Operation Sindoor, India has told Pakistan that the cost for any misadventure would be higher than what it would be prepared to incur. The adoption of such an approach marks a doctrinal shift, according to Lieutenant General (Retired) Vinod Bhatia, a former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO). In four days of military campaign, India struck nine terrorist sites , at least eight airbases, and numerous air defence and radar sites. The sites struck extended from Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) in the north and Karachi in the South. The brunt was, of course, borne by Punjab, the heart of the country, where India hammered some of the crown jewels of Pakistani military, such as the Chaklala and Sargodha airbases. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The hammering was such that while Pakistan rebuffed Indian outreach on May 7, it initiated a request for a ceasefire on May 10 that India agreed to. ALSO READ: Operation Sindoor: With battlefield edge, India cornered Pakistan to seek peace & that's new normal While critics have said that India should have hammered Pakistan more, Bhatia said that the ceasefire was justified as India had achieved its objectives. 'India did not start Operation Sindoor to seek a full-scale war. India had certain objectives in India and India achieved them. The main objective was to change the cost-effect game. For decades, Pakistan used terrorism as a low cost-high effect game. With Operation Sindoor, India turned it into a high cost-low effect game. India set a new normal. Now, Pakistan knows that any terrorist activity against India would invite higher-than-expected costs,' said Bhatia. The costs go much beyond than cratered runways, bombed-out hangars, and destroyed air defence systems. The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty may have effects way more far-reaching than any airstrikes. For context, consider this: around four-fifths of Pakistan's agriculture and one-third of its hydropower depend on the Indus river system and agriculture accounts for one-fourths of the country's economy. 'India controlled escalation ladder, achieved all objectives' As for the criticism that India did not continue the military campaign for some more time, Bhatia said that a full-scale was never the objective and waging a war without any clear objective is a recipe for a disaster. ALSO READ: 'From Kargil to Pahalgam, DGMO hotline has stood test of time': Ex-DGMO Lt Gen Bhatia on Operation Sindoor More than the objectives, India had a clear end-state of the conflict and India steered the campaign such that India achieved its objectives and concluded the campaign at the end-state it had envisioned, said Bhatia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'India controlled the escalation ladder, kept the initiative, and remained proactive throughout the campaign. If you don't have an end-state in mind, you risk getting into an escalation spiral where you may lose control. Prolonging the conflict after the objectives were met would have risked slipping into an uncontrolled escalation spiral. India did not let that happen. India demonstrated the ability to strike deep by hitting more than a dozen sites, imposed high costs, set a new normal, and then forced Pakistan to seek a ceasefire. The entire campaign went as per the plan,' Bhatia.
United News of India
13-05-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
India will only discuss bilaterally with Pakistan, and the only matter concerns vacation of POJK: MEA
New Delhi, May 13 (UNI) Two days after US President Donald Trump said that he would work with India and Pakistan to see if a solution can be arrived at regarding Kashmir, New Delhi made very clear that any issue pertaining to J&K would be discussed directly with Pakistan, and it would be regarding "the outstanding matter of the vacation of the illegally occupied territory of POJK". Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, addressing the media in the wake of the ceasefire understanding between India and Pakistan arrived, also said today that it was the Pakistan High Commission that approached the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on May 10 at just after noon, to initiate a talk between their Directors General of Military Operations, for cessation of hostilities. 'The specific date, time and wording of the understanding was worked out between the DGMOs of the two countries at their phone call on 10 May 2025 commencing 1535 hrs. 'The request for this call was received by the MEA from the Pakistani High Commission at 1237 hrs. 'The Pakistani side had initial difficulties connecting the hotline to the Indian side for technical reasons. The timing was then decided based on the availability of the Indian DGMO at 1535 hrs,' he said. On the issue of talks between India and Pakistan, he said: 'We have a long-standing national position that any issues pertaining to the Union territory of J&K have to be addressed by India and Pakistan bilaterally. That stated policy has not changed. As you are aware - the outstanding matter is the vacation of the illegally occupied territory by Pakistan.' He said that Pakistan's capitulation came following the barrage of fierce attacks launched by India on Pakistani airbases. 'You will of course appreciate that early on 10th morning, we had mounted an extremely effective attack on key Pakistani Air Force bases. That was the reason they were now willing to stop firing and military action. 'Let me be clear. It was the force of Indian arms that compelled Pakistan to stop its firing,' he said. To a question on what countries were conveying to India, during the hostilities, he said: 'As regards the conversations with other nations, the message from India was clear and consistent. 'And exactly the same message that we were conveying from public platforms was the one conveyed in private conversations. 'It was that India was responding to the 22nd April terrorist attack by targeting the terrorist infrastructure. However, if the Pakistani armed forces fire, Indian armed forces will fire back; if Pakistan stops, India will also stop. 'This was also the message that was conveyed to the Pakistani side at the time of the commencement of Operation Sindoor, which was not heeded to by the Pakistani side at that time. 'It is natural that many foreign leaders who heard this from us would have shared it with their Pakistani interlocutors." On May 11, US President Trump had said he is proud that the USA was able to help India and Pakistan arrive at the ceasefire agreement, and added that he would work with both countries to see if a solution can be arrived at regarding Kashmir. In a post on his Truth Social, the US President said: 'Additionally, I will work with you both (India and Pakistan) to see if, after a 'thousand years,' a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir." UNI RN
United News of India
11-05-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
Army chief has granted full authority to our commanders for counteractions in the kinetic domain in case of any violation by Pakistan: LT Gen Ghai
11 May 2025 | 9:19 PM New Delhi, May 11 (UNI) Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 across nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK), left more than 100 terrorists killed including Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudassar Ahmad, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said on Sunday.
United News of India
11-05-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
Over 100 terrorists killed in Op Sindoor on May 7: DGMO
New Delhi, May 11 (UNI) Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 across nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK), left more than 100 terrorists killed including Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudassar Ahmad, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said on Sunday. Addressing a press conference along with DG Air Operations Air Marshal AK Bharti and DG Naval Operations Vice Admiral A Pramod, Lt Gen Ghai said among the killed terrorists those involved in the hijack of IC 814 in 1999 and the 2019 Pulwama blasts. He said, "Operation Sindoor was conceptualised with a clear military aim to punish the perpetrators and planners of terror and to destroy their terror infrastructure. What I do not state here of course is the often stated determination of India and its intolerance to terror". He said that the nine terror camps present in Punjab Pakistan and POJK confirmed the presence of terrorists by the intelligence agencies. Nefarious places in Muridke, the hub centres of LeT, has over the years bred infamous characters such as Ajmal Kasab and the likes of David Headley. On the night of May 8 and 9, the DGMO said, "Pakistan flew drones and aircraft into our airspace all across the borders and largely made unsuccessful attempts to target several military infrastructure". He said on land certain measures such as deployment of air defence and electronic warfare assets to establish integrated grid with the Indian Air Force were undertaken. DG Air Ops, Air Marshal AK Bharti, said the IAF played a major role in these strikes. "Following relentless attacks on airbases, forward posts and on our civilian targets, this was the time to convey some message to our adversaries. A decision was taken to strike where it will hurt," he said. "In a swift and coordinated attack, we struck its air bases, command centres, military infrastructure, and air defence systems across the Western front. The bases include Chaklala, Rafiqui, and Rahim Yar Khan - sending a clear message that aggression will not be tolerated. This was followed by the strike at Sargodha, Jacobabad," the Air Marshal said. He said, "The targets given to the IAF were some of the notorious training camps at Bahawalpur and Muridke. These are further from the international boundary. Through critical target system analysis, we analysed what was to be done to annihilate these targets and (prepared a) plan to engage these targets with precision air-to-surface guided munitions so as to avoid collateral damage". Meanwhile, Vice Admiral A Pramod said that after the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the Indian Navy's Carrier Battle Group, surface forces, submarines and aviation assets were immediately deployed at sea with full combat readiness in consultation with joint operation plan of the Indian defence forces. UNI RBE SSP
United News of India
11-05-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
100 plus terrorists killed in Op Sindoor on May 7: DGMO
New Delhi, May 11 (UNI) Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 across nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK), left more than 100 terrorists killed including Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudassar Ahmad, Director General of Military Operation (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said on Sunday. Addressing a press conference along with DG Air Operations Air Marshal AK Bharti and DG Naval Operations Vice Admiral A Pramod, Lt Gen Ghai said among the killed terrorists those involved in the hijack of IC 814 in 1999 and the 2019 Pulwama blasts. He said, "Operation Sindoor was conceptualised with a clear military aim to punish the perpetrators and planners of terror and to destroy their terror infrastructure. What I do not state here of course is the often stated determination of India and its intolerance to terror". He said that the nine terror camps present in Punjab Pakistan and POJK confirmed the presence of terrorists by the intelligence agencies. Nefarious places in Muridke, the hub centres of LeT, has over the years bred infamous characters such as Ajmal Kasab and the likes of David Headley. On the night of May 8 and 9, the DGMO said, "Pakistan flew drones and aircraft into our airspace all across the borders and largely made unsuccessful attempts to target several military infrastructure". He said on land certain measures such as deployment of air defence and electronic warfare assets to establish integrated grid with the Indian Air Force were undertaken. UNI RBE SSP
