Operation Sindoor: A Strategic Game Changer

Indo-Pak conflict has generated a lot of attention at the international level. A comparative analysis is being done regarding the defence and military capabilities of both nations after the successful outcomes of the Operation Sindoor launched by the Indian Armed Forces to impose cost on the patrons of terror across the border in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK).A comparative analysis of the military strength of both India and Pakistan has always been an important subject for the defence experts and policy makers. The reason being that both the nations have been involved in conflict right from gaining independence from the British. Pakistan has been continuously involved in waging an asymmetric war against India. Pahalgam carnage is part of the same war imposed on India. India retaliated to send a strong message to Pakistan to end terrorism as a state policy. Instead of co-operating to end the evil of terrorism emanating from its soil, Pakistan crossed the red line and launched the air strikes with drones and missiles on the civilians that included Jammu and Kashmir. Making it clear that terrorists being trained in POJK and other areas of Pakistan are its second line of defence and it uses the centres of terror as its extended arm of warfare against India. India responded to this unwarranted attack on the civilian targets with precision and assaulted Pakistani locations well inside its territory.US defence expert John Spencer has said that India’s counter attack on Pakistan has sent a clear message that it has the capability to hit anywhere and anytime. He has also underlined that the Chinese air defence system used by Pakistan could not withstand the precision of India’s BrahMos missiles that targeted its military bases. In an interview with leading Indian news magazine India Today, Spencer has underlined that India was successful in hitting across Pakistan and defending itself successfully, including against Pakistani drone attacks and high-speed missiles. He has not stopped here but went beyond in bringing out the clear picture as far as the military capability of India is concerned. Substantiating the superiority of the Indian defence capability he has said, “Chinese air defence systems and missiles are sub-par vis a vis India’s systems. India’s BrahMos missile was able to penetrate Chinese and Pakistani air defence systems. India’s message was clear. It can hit anywhere in Pakistan anytime.” He has termed the Operation Sindoor launched to decimate the Pahalgam terrorist attack as the inflection point in the war on terror. He has noted that India had a clear message to deliver and it was that it doesn’t want war but will punish the patrons of terror without escalation. Terming the Operation Sindoor as relevant in the present era to counter terrorism, he has said that it will be studied by the military strategists and the students for years to come. As the countries that are fighting terrorism can replicate Operation Sindoor. He has appreciated the costs imposed by India on Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam carnage and termed the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) as a smart move to pressurise Pakistan to end terrorism. International recognition of India’s response to terrorism emanating from Pakistan proves that the international community has internalised the threat to Indian security and territorial integrity emerging from Pakistan’s policy of bleeding India with asymmetric warfare and using terrorism as an arm of subversive war against India in Jammu and Kashmir. Operation Sindoor has emerged as a strategic game changer for India as far as fighting the asymmetric war with Pakistan is concerned.