Latest news with #Pakistani-occupied
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First Post
15-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
‘Operation Sindoor' was not about occupation or regime change, but achieving strategic success, says John Spencer
Operation Sindoor was a limited military campaign aimed at specific objectives, not regime change or occupation, said US expert John Spencer, adding, its success lies in achieving strategic political outcomes, not in the scale of destruction read more India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, bottom right, addresses a press conference after India struck multiple sites inside Pakistani-occupied Kashmir with missiles under Operation Sindoor, in New Delhi, India, on May 7, 2025. AP File A day after he hailed 'Operation Sindoor' as 'a decisive victory in modern warfare', former US army officer John W Spencer on Thursday said that India's limited military operation was executed for achieving specific objectives and was not about occupation or regime change. Responding to critics who argue India should have gone further, he asserted that India's goal was not maximalist warfare but strategic success. Operation Sindoor was not about occupation or regime change. It was limited war executed for specific objectives. Critics who argue India should have gone further miss the point. Strategic success isn't about the scale of destruction—it's about achieving the desired political… — John Spencer (@SpencerGuard) May 14, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Operation Sindoor was not about occupation or regime change. It was limited war executed for specific objectives. Critics who argue India should have gone further miss the point. Strategic success isn't about the scale of destruction — it's about achieving the desired political effect,' Spencer posted on X. He said India's restraint cannot be seen as a weakness but it's maturity. 'It imposed costs, redefined thresholds, and retained escalation dominance. India didn't just respond to an attack. It changed the strategic equation,' added the former US officer. On Wednesday, in a lengthy post on X, Spencer termed India's 'Operation Sindoor' against Pakistan 'a decisive victory in modern warfare' and said that the country has not yet declared the operation complete. He also said the new India hits back, while the India back in 2008 absorbed attacks and waited. Spencer, who is also a researcher of urban warfare and an author, said India achieved a 'massive victory" in its operation against Pakistan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'India has not declared Operation Sindoor completely over. What exists now is a sensitive halt in operations—some may call it a ceasefire, but military leaders have deliberately avoided that word. From a warfighting perspective, this is not merely a pause; it is a strategic hold following a rare and unambiguous military victory," Spencer wrote on on X. 'After just four days of calibrated military action, it is objectively conclusive: India achieved a massive victory." 'Operation Sindoor met and exceeded its strategic aims—destroying terrorist infrastructure, demonstrating military superiority, restoring deterrence, and unveiling a new national security doctrine. This was not symbolic force. It was decisive power, clearly applied," he added. Referencing the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent tourists on April 22, Spencer mentioned that the responsibility of the attack was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). 'India was attacked. On April 22, 2025, 26 Indian civilians, mostly Hindu tourists, were massacred in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility. As has been the case for decades, the group is backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)," Spencer wrote on X. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'But unlike previous attacks, this time India didn't wait. It didn't appeal for international mediation or issue a diplomatic demarche. It launched warplanes. On May 7, India initiated Operation Sindoor, a swift and precisely calibrated military campaign. The Indian Air Force struck nine terrorist infrastructure targets inside Pakistan, including headquarters and operational hubs for Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. The message was clear: terror attacks launched from Pakistani soil will now be treated as acts of war," he added. Spencer also hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and mentioned how he made firm that India would not tolerate any nuclear blackmail. 'Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the new doctrine unmistakable: 'India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail. India will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail." More than a retaliation, this was the unveiling of a strategic doctrine. As Modi said, 'Terror and talks can't go together. Water and blood can't flow together."," he wrote. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, the scale of damage inflicted by Indian forces on terrorist camps and Pakistani airbases prompted a shift in coverage by major Western media outlets, many of which had initially downplayed the April 22 attack. Outlets that previously referred to the perpetrators as mere 'gunmen' or 'militants', avoiding the label of 'terrorist', were compelled to take notice after India's precision strikes delivered significant blows deep inside Pakistan — without crossing the Line of Control or the International Border. The effectiveness and restraint of the operation forced a recalibration of international narratives. After the April 22 Pahalgam attack, major Western outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post failed to play up critical details, including that the victims at Baisaran meadows were killed after being identified as Hindus. Their headlines read, 'At least 24 tourists gunned down by militants in Kashmir' and 'Gunmen launch rare attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, respectively. However, the precision and scale of Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 and paused on May 10 after Pakistan reportedly sought a ceasefire, forced a shift in tone. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The New York Times acknowledged India had a 'clear edge' in targeting Pakistani military sites. 'The four-day military clash between India and Pakistan was the most expansive fighting in half a century between the two nuclear-armed countries. As both sides used drones and missiles to test each other's air defences and hit military facilities, they claimed to inflict severe damage,' the NYT reported. The report also noted that while India's attacks were 'widespread,' the damage was more contained than publicly claimed and was largely limited to Pakistani military facilities. The New York Times further stated that strikes by both India and Pakistan were 'precisely targeted.' 'Where India appears to have had a clear edge is in its targeting of Pakistan's military facilities and airfields, as the latter stretch of fighting shifted from symbolic strikes and shows of force to attacks on each other's defence capabilities,' the report added. The Indian armed forces said that a precise strike targeted an aircraft hangar at the Bholari air base. Supporting this, The New York Times reported, 'The visuals showed clear damage to what looks like a hangar.' Among the most sensitive targets hit by India was the Nur Khan air base, located close to both the Pakistani Army's headquarters and the Prime Minister's office. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Perhaps the most sensitive military target that India struck,' the report said. The base is also situated near a key Pakistani military division responsible for overseeing the country's nuclear command. Satellite imagery revealed damage to runways and other facilities India claimed to have targeted. The New York Times cited Pakistan's May 10 notice declaring the runway at Rahim Yar Khan air base non-operational as further evidence of Indian strikes. The report also highlighted the limited visibility of Pakistani retaliatory damage. 'Satellite images of the sites Pakistan claimed to have hit are limited, and so far do not clearly show damage caused by Pakistani strikes even at bases where there was corroborating evidence of some military action,' the report said. While Pakistani officials claimed to have 'destroyed' India's Udhampur air base, the report contradicted this, saying that 'an image from May 12 does not appear to show damage.' The Washington Post reported strikes damaged 'at least six airfields,' citing satellite analysis that revealed destruction across runways, hangars, and control facilities — some as deep as 100 miles inside Pakistan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Experts quoted by The Washington Post described Operation Sindoor as 'the most significant attacks of their kind in decades of simmering conflict.' It also cited King's College London's Walter Ladwig, calling the four-day assault 'the most extensive Indian air attacks on Pakistani military infrastructure since the 1971 war.' William Goodhind, a geospatial analyst, noted the strikes aimed to 'severely degrade Pakistan's offensive and defensive air capabilities.' At Nur Khan airbase near Islamabad — Pakistan's central military transport hub — The Washington Post confirmed two mobile control centers were destroyed. The base's proximity to Pakistan's nuclear command made the strike particularly significant. Airbases at Bholari and Shahbaz also suffered heavy damage. 'A large hole nearly 60 feet wide is visible in the roof of a hangar at Bholari, which experts said was consistent with a missile impact,' The Washington Post reported. Indian officials, however, said that 11 Pakistani airbases were targeted in total. With inputs from agencies
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
India launches ‘Operation Sindoor' with missile attack on Pakistan
India's armed forces launched 'Operation Sindoor,' targeting alleged terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistani-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan reported that Indian missiles struck multiple locations, including a mosque in Punjab, resulting in casualties, and claimed to have launched retaliatory strikes. The Indian government stated that the operation was focused, measured, and non-escalatory, with no Pakistani military facilities targeted. Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated following an attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir last month, which India blames on Pakistan-backed gunmen.
The Hindu
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
UK says it stands ready to support India and Pakistan to move towards dialogue and de-escalation
The UK on Wednesday (May 7, 2025) said that it stands ready to support both India and Pakistan to move towards dialogue and de-escalation, after Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on terror targets in the neighbouring country under Operation Sindoor. Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds described the situation in Jammu and Kashmir as "hugely worrying" and told the BBC that his Cabinet colleague, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, had 'reached out' to both countries. 'Our message would be that we are a friend, a partner to both countries. We stand ready to support both countries,' said Mr. Reynolds. Follow the Operation Sindoor reactions LIVE "Both have a huge interest in regional stability, in dialogue, in de-escalation and anything we can do to support that, we are here and willing to do," he said. The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) updated its travel advisory to warn against 'military activity' under its 'Warnings and Insurance' section for India. Scotland's First Minister John Swinney took to social media soon after news of Operation Sindoor hit the headlines in the UK overnight. "I am deeply concerned by the events in Kashmir tonight and urge calm and dialogue to avoid further conflict,' he said. Among the Labour government MPs, Stella Creasy called for restraint by all concerned: 'Deeply concerning to see military air strikes in Jammu Kashmir tonight by the Indian government. "The world cannot stand by as this conflict escalates, and so too the risk of harm to innocent civilians in the region. Restraint by all concerned must be sought and secured.' Former Conservative Party Foreign Office minister Lord Tariq Ahmad warned of a real "potential for war". The missile strikes by India on Pakistan and Pakistani-occupied Kashmir is an "alarming escalation between two nuclear-armed neighbours – the potential of a war tonight is real,' Mr. Ahmad said. 'We need urgent international engagement to prevent a widening of this conflict which carries serious implications not just for the region but for the wider world,' he posted on X.
India Today
06-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Donald Trump says he knew India would retaliate, hopes it ends quickly
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday reacted to reports of India's military strikes on targets inside Pakistan, describing the situation as "a shame" and urging both countries to de-escalate. "It's a shame. We just heard about it They've been fighting for a long timeThey have been fighting for many many decades.. and centuries actually. I just hope it ends very quickly," Trump told reporters, commenting on what is being referred to as Operation Sindoor. "Nobody wants to see two powerful nations going down that road,' Trump added. 'These are countries with long histories and deep tensions, but the world needs peace, not more conflict.' US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday afternoon that the recent Indian strikes against targets in Pakistan and Pakistani-occupied Kashmir were a "shame."
India Today
02-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
POK residents asked to stockpile food, essentials amid soaring India-Pak tensions
Panicked by the spiralling tensions between India and Pakistan in view of the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack, the government of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) has announced a host of measures in order to be prepared for any eventuality amid high speculation of military retaliation from New to an order issued by POK Prime Minister, Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, after an all-party meeting, residents living near the Line of Control (LoC) have been asked to stockpile food and essential items. Also, the entry of tourists into the Neelum Valley and other LoC-adjacent areas has been among a slew of measures announced were the closure of religious seminaries in the Pakistani-occupied territory of Kashmir, apart from the establishment of an Emergency Response Fund valued at Rs 1 billion to support relief measures needed to be taken in the event of a military conflict. Additionally, official and private machinery has been deployed to ensure that roads remain open in key LoC constituencies, including Neelum, Jhelum, Poonch, Haveli, Kotli, and the civil defence forces in POK have been placed on high alert, the local disaster management authority has also issued an emergency rescue helpline 1122, in case residents need any urgent in POK have been continuously monitoring the situation at the Indian frontier across the vows of military and befitting military retaliation by top Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the airspace over major Pakistani airports in Karachi and Lahore remains closed for around eight hours every POK administration's panicked reaction came days after Indian security agencies flagged to the government that around 40 terrorist launch pads were operating in the region and India vowed action against the a day ago, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi called on the Modi government to take over the territory. His remarks were in reference to the previous military retaliation by India in response to the 2016 Uri attack and 2019 Pulwama attack, when a surgical strike and an airstrike were carried out respectively, both in ATTACK AFTERMATHIndia and Pakistan have been witnessing a high-decibel war rhetoric ever since 25 tourists and one local were killed in an attack by Pakistani-backed terrorists. While India has vowed stern military retaliation and "unimaginable punishment", Pakistan has warned against any military "misadventure".The world has been watching the developments in the Indian subcontinent with bated breath with a number of countries, including the US, calling on both countries to employ restraint and not escalate the matter any Watch
