When Pahgam attack on April 22 this year, with the lives of innocent people and derogatory religious and gender profiles, it was clear that India’s tolerance limit was nothing but several times. Although the Government of India immediately organized the Cabinet Committee for Security (CCS) after the attack, the CCS decisions reached Politico-Poplomatic-Economic Options to punish Pakistan.
For strategic minds, it was clear that it was a window of opportunity created to plan armed forces, to obtain necessary intelligence and to establish complete readiness for the launch of both flakes and depth to the invasive and absorb any vengeance. Terrorists usually work on surprise, but it may not be the most efficient way of executing an operation in which vengeance is a major factor. In other words, the failure or even non-existence of full purpose may not be an option. The delivery of the mission was a national compulsion, as it rested the image and the future of India as a responsible nation that could defend itself.
Size a ‘self -defense’ story
Operation Sindor, a very suitable name of operation, from which a lot of media is written in the media, was designed to demonstrate India’s ability to grow without a full -scale war. It was also conceived to implement the cost of material on Pakistan’s hybrid war mechanisms. With its emerging global strategic significance, India also ensured pre-Khali global diplomatic outreach to shape the post-strike story as a legitimate task of self-defense. In the operational-seani domain, ‘surgical strikes’ and single objective missions, shifts for strategic, punitive missile diplomacy have been a notable change in the strategy that India has followed.
It is important to break the components of the entire operation and look at them from the angles that have not been considered strategically important. Kodename is one of them. The name option, ‘Operation Sindoor’, is a lesson in strategic communication and is distinguished for the Prime Minister’s personal stamp. ‘Sindoor’ (vermilion) is a symbol of a sacred mark on the forehead in Indian culture, often associated with martyrdom (provokes the blood of fallen soldiers), resolution, and purity (especially, feminine power in mythology). It is also a symbol that expresses her husband to a woman’s trust. Thus, it is a sacred red line – which once crossed, invites decisive vengeance. Psychological messages from codenames were India’s restrained but firm currency reflection.
Message with women officials
Before focusing on the choice of nine goals and the means of killing them, it is also good to understand why women officers of the Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) were nominated to sit on the panel of Foreign Secretary and explain the operation in detail. The era of strategic optics is now definitely on us. Most India makes up its mind by watching the scene and staring at its mobile screen. Breifeng’s optics focused on the modern, inclusive and competent armed forces of India. This fought the stereotypes about patriarchal terrorists. There was a symbolic projection of ‘Nari Shakti’ (Women Shakti) in national security roles, also to join with the tragedy that loses unfortunate women to her husband in Pahgam Carnez. It is a symbol of vengeance by female power. In many ways, it also outlined an ideological contrast with our opponent, which promotes retrograde and radical gender roles.
Operation, in its physicality, demonstrated a change in the next generation of the Indian Armed Forces war. In 2016, the surgical strike against Pakistan was made against the ground objectives to India and launched from the ground; The calibration level was high, as an increase was considered avoidable. Only terrorist camps or bases were killed. In 2019, Balakot operation focused on the same goal in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), but it increased into Pakistani air intruders, with a negative result for us. The next day there was a slight increase.
Importance of sites killed
In contrast, in Operation Sindoor, the objectives were in the 700-km frontage and included high-profile terrorist centers in Bahwalpur, MuridK and Sialkot. The headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) is a center for both Bahawalpur, ideological leadership and advanced terrorist training of the organization. Sending a message to Masood Azhar’s network and Pakistani establishment that it was considered important to harass him, even though the footprints of Gem in the Pahgam attack were not clear.
Similarly, Muridke is a known late stronghold near Lahore. Given that historically, it is off-lymph due to proximity to civil areas, targeting it, now indicates an acceptance in terms of acceptable growth for India. It also reduces Hafiz Saeed’s ideological stronghold and recruitment network.
Sialkot is a strategically-located military city near Jammu border. It is home to Pakistani strike formation, supply depot and forward command structures. It was a launchpad for the Pathankot attack in January 2016.
The proximity to these centers/objectives for various formation headquarters of the Pakistan Army shows a clear message – that if provoked, India will also target them, not only behind the militant screen in their camps. It became even more clear as the situation increases. Not only this place was the most prominent site in the terrorist infrastructure of Pakistan, but also located in the center of Punjab, which is traditionally understood as the centers of the gravity of Pakistan and the grain of the country. For the first time, it is focusing on both military and the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
Understanding Pakistan’s reaction
This time Pakistan was also expected to demonstrate a response, as in 2019. However, Pakistan chose East with a missile and drone attack on 15 Indian Airfields and Garison from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat. As expected, India’s counter-UAS (unmanned aircraft system) network and air defense resources, including high-profile S-400 air defense systems, stopped all Pakistani aerial systems. India responded to the attack on the air defense radar of both Lahore and Rawalpindi and once again launched missiles to demonstrate capacity, raising the number of civic casualties. With the known Chinese advanced radar system being neutralized, there are now holes in the air protection of these important cities. They include some of the some more important components of the Pakistan Army, including the general headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and the headquarters of the Pakistan 4 core in Lahore, including the 10th and 11th Infantry Division.
In a rapidly changing and dynamic environment, Pakistan chose to attack selected air areas and other regions of northern and western India on the night of May 8 and May 9. In, these, once again, were interrupted without any loss. The ball is now in a Pakistan court, which can choose to think of launching another cycle of growth or increasing the situation. Of course, other domains are at risk of this spiraling, such as sea or even surface operations. If this happens, the situation may deteriorate rapidly and requires international arbitration, until the Government of India decided to call the bluff of Deep State at any time.
Screw
An area that we should be most concerned about is Loc, as well as the International Border (IB) in the Jammu region. The LoC has seen heavy firing in Jammu and Kashmir, and small arms, mortar and artillery exchange is not remarkable or routine. Pakistan has chosen to employ the most vicious targeting of civilian areas, causing heavy loss to life. India cannot accept it. As a reaction, our strategy does not involve targeting civilians. Thus we have to ensure that LoC firing has been appropriately neutralized through heavy and regular counter-bombings against Pakistani guns. In addition, many area-specific dominated areas can be activated as the difference in the movement of the Pakistan Army. This is the first and major responsibility, even we analyze other traditional and sub-traditional methods in which the situation can progress
This essay is difficult to eliminate as dynamic in a position as it is coming in input. As writing this piece, the Indian Navy has reported to open a threat to Pakistan’s only commercial port. With constant danger, no trader will run in the ship area as insurance costs will increase manifold. Pakistan does not have energy resources to maintain prolonged resistance. It is a failed game that Pakistan continues to play. The pressure on military leadership may probably run a change at the top. At this time, India should continue to turn on the screws in every domain to put tireless pressure on Pakistan, with a dangerous pull pulled back from the abyss, in which it has chosen to hurt with the ongoing collision.
(The author GOC, a member of the National Disaster Management Authority, Chancellor of the Central University of Kashmir and former GOC of 15 Corps in Srinagar)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
