Operation Sindoor: India’s Loitering, Scalp and Hammer Strike! It’s More than Surgical Strike!

Photo Courtesy: odishabytes.com

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Operation Sindoor:

India’s armed forces executed a precise and calibrated operation codenamed “Operation Sindoor” in the early hours of Wednesday, 07 May, 2025, targeting terrorist infrastructure deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). This strategic military response came as retaliation for the brutal 22 April terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, which claimed 26 innocent lives-25 Indians and one Nepali citizen. The operation represents a significant evolution in India’s counter-terrorism strategy, demonstrating enhanced capabilities to strike at the very nerve centers of terror organizations without crossing international boundaries.

Operation Sindoor Strike Messaging:

1.         Terrorist Masterminds will be hit, now.

2.         No place in Pakistan is now safe for perpetrators of terrorism.

3.         Those who snatched innocent youth from their mothers and used them in the name of Jehad to carry out terrorist attacks  on innocent Indians will now be made to eat the same pudding; the death and the coffins of their near and dear ones will be delivered to them.

4.         India cannot be divided on religious lines, instead Indian response will be  united and deeper.

Operation Sindoor Press Brief Messaging:

1.         Indian women are powerful, they will make you pay dearly for their Sindoor.

2.         Indian citizens and soldiers will always give united response irrespective of their religious backgrounds. For them, the Nation is always first.

3.         Our fight is against state sponsored terrorism of Pakistan, therefore only terrorist camps were hit, no military or civilian establishment  targeted.

Loitering, Scalp and Hammer: A Precision Surgical Strike

Targets and Execution Strategy

The Indian armed forces carried out 24 precision missile strikes on nine strategic terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and PoK. What makes this operation particularly significant is that Indian forces did not physically cross the Line of Control (LoC) or International Border (IB), instead utilizing standoff weapons operated from within Indian territory. This represents a tactical evolution from previous operations.

The operation was conducted around 1 AM on 07 May, 2025, with strikes originating from multiple fronts.

The Nine Targets: Striking at Terror’s Heart

The operation targeted nine specific locations associated with known terrorist organizations:

1. Bahawalpur (JeM headquarters): Located approximately 100 km from the International Boundary, this represents the deepest strike, hitting Markaz Subhan, the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed. JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar’s 10 family members and four of his aides also killed in the strikes.
2. Muridke (LeT camp): Situated 30 km from the border opposite Samba, this is a significant Lashkar-e-Taiba camp.
3. Gulpur: Located 35 km from LoC in Poonch-Rajouri sector.
4. Sawai (LeT camp): Positioned 30 km inside PoK in the Tangdhar Sector.
5. Bilal Camp: A JeM launchpad for infiltration operations.
6. Kotli camp (LeT): Located 15 km from LoC opposite Rajouri.
7. Barnala camp: Situated 10 km from LoC opposite Rajouri.
8. Sarjal camp (JeM): Approximately 8 km from IB opposite Samba-Kathua.
9. Mehmoona camp (HM training camp): Located 15 km from IB, near Sialkot.

Casualties and Impact

According to sources, the operation resulted in 70 terrorists killed and more than 60 wounded, significantly degrading the operational capabilities of these terrorist organizations. Notably, JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar claimed that 10 members of his family and four of his aides were killed in the strikes, a statement that underscores the precision and effectiveness of the operation.

Pakistani officials, however, presented different figures, reporting between 8 and 26 casualties with dozens wounded.

Strategic Significance: Redefining India’s Counter-Terror Response

A New Military Paradigm

Operation Sindoor represents a significant shift in Indo-Pakistan military dynamics. The operation has demonstrated India’s capability to strike targets deep inside Pakistan without physically crossing borders or the LoC. This dramatically changes the strategic calculus, as India now has credible targeting options covering most of Pakistan without taking the escalatory step of crossing international boundaries.

Calibrated Response: Targeting Terror, Not Military

A critical aspect of Operation Sindoor was its strictly counter-terrorism focus. The Indian Defense Ministry emphasized, “Importantly, no Pakistani military facilities were hit, reflecting India’s calibrated and non-escalatory approach. This operation underscores India’s resolve to hold perpetrators accountable while avoiding unnecessary provocation.” This strategy places the decision to escalate squarely on Pakistan, creating a strategic dilemma for Islamabad/Rawalpindi.

Quality of Targets: Striking the Nerve Centers

Unlike previous counter-terrorism operations, Operation Sindoor targeted the actual nerve centers of major terrorist organizations-Markaz Taiba in Muridke (LeT) and Bahawalpur (JeM). This represents a significant escalation in terms of target selection, sending a clear message that India now possesses both the intelligence capabilities to identify these locations and the military means to strike them precisely.

The Maulana Masood Azhar Family Strike: A Direct Message to Terror Leadership

The reported casualties among Maulana Masood Azhar’s family represent perhaps the most significant aspect of Operation Sindoor. By striking close to the JeM chief-claiming 10 family members and four aides-India has sent an unmistakable message that terrorist leadership and their support networks are no longer safe, even deep within Pakistani territory.

This targeted approach serves multiple purposes:

1. It demonstrates India’s precise intelligence capabilities
2. It creates personal consequences for terror masterminds
3. It potentially disrupts the organizational structure of JeM
4. It sends a psychological message to other terror leaders that their families are now vulnerable

This represents a new dimension in India’s counter-terrorism strategy, creating a deterrent effect by making terror leadership understand that there are direct personal consequences to orchestrating attacks against India.

Strategic Messaging Through Female Leadership: Decoding India’s Press Briefing Choices for Operation Sindoor

Breaking Sectarian Narratives Through Military Representation

• The decision to have Colonel Sofia Qureshi (Muslim) and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh (Hindu) jointly brief the media on Operation Sindoor constitutes a calculated rebuttal to the Pahalgam attackers’ sectarian ideology. The terrorists had explicitly targeted Hindu males, using religious identifiers like circumcision checks and recitation of the kalima to segregate victims.
• By deploying a Muslim officer from the Army Signals Corps and a Hindu IAF helicopter pilot as the operation’s public faces, India weaponized religious pluralism against Pakistan’s divisive tactics. Colonel Qureshi’s background-a third-generation military family with roots in Gujarat’s Vadodara-embodies India’s syncretic traditions. Her grandfather served as a religious teacher in the army, a role that inherently bridges spiritual and national service.
• Wing Commander Singh, meanwhile, represents the aspirational Hindu middle class-an engineer-turned-pilot with 2,500 plus flying hours in conflict zones. Their combined presence dismantles the binary of “Muslim Pakistan vs. Hindu India” that the Pahalgam attackers sought to reinforce.

Countering Pakistan’s Proxy War Doctrine

Pakistan-based groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) have historically framed Kashmir as an Islamic resistance movement. Operation Sindoor’s briefing strategically highlighted that:

• Muslim soldiers lead India’s counter-terrorism efforts: Qureshi’s command role in the multinational exercise (2016) and her current position prove that religious identity doesn’t dictate loyalty in India’s secular military.
• Hindu-Muslim collaboration ensures national security: The Qureshi-Singh pairing visually contradicted the terrorists’ attempt to portray Hindus as occupiers and Muslims as separatists.
• This messaging gains potency given Pakistan’s systemic persecution of religious minorities. While India showcased Muslim leadership in its military response, Pakistan’s army has repeatedly been accused of complicity in attacks on Shia, Ahmadi, and Hindu communities. The briefing thus exposed the hypocrisy of Pakistan’s “defender of Muslims” narrative.

Pakistan’s Dilemma: The Response Trap

Operation Sindoor places Pakistan in a difficult position regarding retaliation. As defense analysts note, “any potential retaliation from Pakistan should not involve physical crossing of LoC or the international border” if judged on grounds of proportional response. This creates a strategic quandary for Pakistan’s leadership.

Furthermore, any escalation by Pakistan could jeopardize ongoing diplomatic initiatives, including talks related to the Indus Waters Treaty. This calculated approach by India effectively constrains Pakistan’s options.

Conclusion: More Than a Surgical Strike

Operation Sindoor represents a significant evolution in India’s counter-terrorism strategy. Unlike the 2016 surgical strikes or the 2019 Balakot airstrikes, this operation demonstrated India’s capability to strike multiple targets simultaneously across a wide geographic area without crossing borders. It combined precision, restraint, and strategic messaging in a sophisticated package that redefines the parameters of India’s response options.

By targeting the nerve centers of terrorist organizations, striking close to their leadership, and demonstrating advanced military capabilities, India has sent a clear message: those who sponsor or perpetrate terrorism against India will face consequences, regardless of where they hide. The operation’s careful execution-avoiding civilian and military targets while precisely hitting terrorist infrastructure-reflects a mature approach to counter-terrorism that’s likely to shape regional security dynamics for years to come.

Operation Sindoor’s press briefing transcended traditional military PR. By combining Colonel Qureshi’s Muslim identity with Wing Commander Singh’s Hindu heritage and their shared gender, India weaponized inclusivity as a counter-terrorism tool. This approach:

• Invalidated the attackers’ sectarian worldview
• Empowered women beyond victimhood narratives
• Projected military prowess through social progress

The move pressures Pakistan to either modernize its own institutions or face further ideological isolation-a masterstroke in 21st-century psychological operations.