‘Justice is served’: India launches ‘Operation Sindoor,’ strikes on Pakistan, headquarters of LeT and JeM

Shortly after the strikes, the Ministry of Defence, while underlining that “no Pakistani military facilities have been targeted”, said “our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory” and “India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution”.

The Indian Army’s official handle on X, in a post with hashtag #PahalgamTerrorAttack, said, “Justice is served. Jai Hind!”

The Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters targetted in the strike.

The Indian Army’s official handle on X, in a post with hashtag #PahalgamTerrorAttack, said, “Justice is served. Jai Hind!”

The Pakistan Army said at least 26 people were killed and 46 injured in the strikes. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country has every right to respond to “this act of war”.

Of the nine sites targeted, five were in PoK (two sites each in Muzaffarabad and Kotli and one in Bhimber), and four in Pakistan (two in Sialkot, one each in Muridke and Bahawalpur) – a marked departure from 2019 when, following the Pulwama terror attack, the Indian Air Force targeted one terror site, at Balakot, in Pakistan.

The nine sites targeted were Markaz Taiba at Muridke near Lahore, the headquarters of the Lashkar-e-Taiba where 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab and Lashkar scout David Coleman Headley were trained; Markaz Subhanallah, the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur; Sarjal in Sialkot; Mehmona Joya in Sialkot; Sawai Nala in Muzaffarabad; Syedna Bilal in Muzaffarabad; Gulpur in Kotli; Abbas in Kotli; and Bhimber.

Briefing the media, two women officers — Colonel Sophia Qureshi of the Army’s Corps of Signals and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, a helicopter pilot of the IAF — along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Operation Sindoor was conducted from 1 am to 1.30 am

The operation, Colonel Qureshi said, was launched to give justice to people who became victims of the heinous Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, and their families. She gave details of video footage of the sites targeted. “In this action, nine terrorist camps were targeted and destroyed,” she said. Clips of the strike were also played on the screen during the briefing.

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said that Pakistan, over the last three decades, “systematically built terror infrastructure. It is a complex web of recruitment and indoctrination centres, training areas for initial and refresher courses and launch pads for handlers. These camps are located both in Pakistan as well as Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) areas.”

“The strike on the terror camps were undertaken through precision capability… Niche technology weapons with careful selection of warheads was ensured, so that there will be no collateral damage. The point of impact at each of the targets was a specific building or a group of buildings.”

“All the targets were neutralised with clinical efficiency, and the results reiterate the professionalism of the Indian armed forces in the planning and execution of their operations.”

Underlining that “no military establishments were targeted”, she said India demonstrated considerable restraint in its response.

Foreign Secretary Misri, for the first time, linked and held Pakistan responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack.

“On April 22, Pakistani and Pakistan-trained terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out a savage attack on Indian tourists at Pahalgam in Jammu & Kashmir in India. They murdered 26 people, including one national of Nepal, causing the largest number of civilian casualties in a terrorist attack in India since the 26th November 2008 attacks in Mumbai.”

He had earlier spoken of “cross-border linkages” without naming Pakistan.

He said the attack in Pahalgam was marked by “extreme barbarity, with the victims mostly killed with head-shots from close range and in front of their families. Family members were deliberately traumatised through the manner of the killing, accompanied by the exhortation that they should take back the message”.

“The attack was clearly driven by the objective of undermining the normalcy returning to Jammu & Kashmir. In particular, it was designed to impact the mainstay of the economy, tourism, with a record 23 million tourists visiting the Valley last year. The calculation, presumably, was that harming growth and development in the Union Territory would help keep it backward and create fertile ground for continued cross-border terrorism from Pakistan,” he said.

“The manner of the attack was also driven by an objective of provoking communal discord, both in Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the nation. It is to the credit of the government and the people of India that these designs were foiled.”

“A group calling itself The Resistance Front (TRF) has claimed responsibility for the attack. This group is a front for the UN-proscribed Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. It is notable that India had given inputs about the TRF in the half-yearly report to the Monitoring Team of the UN’s 1267 Sanctions Committee in May and November 2024, bringing out its role as a cover for Pakistan-based terrorist groups. Earlier too, in December 2023, India had informed the monitoring team about LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed operating through small terror groups such as the TRF. Pakistan’s pressure to remove references to TRF in the April 25 UN Security Council press statement is notable in this regard,” Misri said.

“Investigations into the Pahalgam terror attack have brought out the communication nodes of terrorists in and to Pakistan. The claims made by The Resistance Front and their reposting by known social media handles of the Lashkar-e-Taiba speak for themselves. Identification of the attackers, based on eyewitness accounts, as well as other information available to law enforcement agencies, has also progressed. Our intelligence has developed an accurate picture of the planners and backers of this team,” he said.

“The features of this attack also tie in with Pakistan’s long track record of perpetrating cross-border terror in India, which is well documented, and beyond question. Pakistan also has a well-deserved reputation as a haven for terrorists from around the world, with internationally proscribed terrorists enjoying impunity there. In addition, Pakistan has been known to wilfully mislead the world and international forums, such as the Financial Action Task Force, on this issue. The Sajid Mir case, in which this terrorist was declared dead and then, in response to international pressure, brought back to life, found alive and arrested, is the most glaring example,” he said.

“The latest attack in Pahalgam has understandably generated deep anger in Jammu and Kashmir, and in other parts of India. Following the attacks, the Government of India naturally responded with a set of initial measures relating to our engagement with Pakistan,” he said, referring to the diplomatic steps.

On the rationale behind the strike, Misri said, “It was deemed essential that the perpetrators and planners of the 22nd April attack be brought to justice. Despite a fortnight having passed since the attacks, there has been no demonstrable step from Pakistan to take action against the terrorist infrastructure on its territory or on territory under its control. Instead, all it has indulged in are denials and allegations. Our intelligence monitoring of Pakistan-based terrorist modules indicated that further attacks against India were impending. There was thus a compulsion both to deter and to pre-empt.”

“Earlier this morning… India exercised its right to respond and pre-empt as well as deter more such cross-border attacks. These actions were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate, and responsible. They focused on dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and disabling terrorists likely to be sent across to India,” he said.

Underlining that India has demonstrated considerable restraint in its response, Wing Commander Singh said, “However, it must be said that the Indian armed forces are fully prepared to respond to Pakistani misadventures, if any, that will escalate the situation.”