‘You may be thinking the war finished on May 10, No…’: COAS Gen Dwivedi on Op Sindoor

NEW DELHI: Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi lauded the Indian Army for a calibrated response during Operation Sindoor and noted that the war against Pakistan did not end with the cessation of hostilities on May 10.

Addressing the book launch of ‘Operation Sindoor: Before and Beyond’ on Friday, COAS General Dwivedi said that the “war” against Pakistan continued after the ceasefire, as there were decisions to be made. “You may be thinking the war finished on May 10. No. It continued for a long time because so many decisions had to be made. It will be difficult for me to share beyond that”, General Dwivedi said.

An understanding of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced on May 10, following cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir. India had executed a calibrated response against terror targets during Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives.

Book Launch by #COAS #GeneralUpendraDwivedi, #COAS, today unveiled the book “Operation SINDOOR: The Untold Story of India’s Deep Strikes Inside Pakistan” by Lieutenant General KJS ‘Tiny’ Dhillon (Retd).

The book provides a detailed account of the “Four-Day War” highlighting… pic.twitter.com/eCxazjrGkK

— ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) September 5, 2025

Furthermore, General Upendra Dwivedi noted that the defence officials discussed the definition of a calibrated response, and he also spoke with the veterans who presented several options as a response to the Pahalgam attack.

“So, when to start, when to stop, how much to apply in terms of time, space, and resources, and what is the definition of calibrated, all these things are something which we kept on discussing at every point in time. Because this time, there were no precedents. Though I spoke to many veterans on 22nd and 23rd April… Many of them presented so many brilliant options… Every action, every deliberate non-action, had long-term implications”, he said.

Hailing the Indian Army, he said that Operation Sindoor moved like a “rhythmic wave”. He added, “The Indian Army, during this complete thing, moved like a rhythmic wave… In these 88 hours, you did not have the time to come for the planning, then pass the orders. Everybody was synergised and knew their orders”.

General Upendra Dwivedi also said that the theaterisation of the armed forces is moving ahead “satisfactorily”. He said, “Theaterisation is moving satisfactorily. We need to understand that whenever we engage in conventional warfare, three key elements are required: force mobilisation, force protection, and force application. For this, we need unity in command and decentralisation in execution. Theaterisation is the way ahead. The only thing is time, which we need to look into”.

#WATCH | COAS General Upendra Dwivedi says, “Theaterisation is moving satisfactorily. We need to understand that whenever we have conventional warfare, there are three things that are required: force mobilisation, force protection and force application. For this, we need unity in… pic.twitter.com/XrzX1x4Brr

— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2025

When asked about the Aid-de-Camps (ADCs) and integration with other security forces, the COAS said, “What is most important is the degree of familiarisation. We have to be familiar with each other. The more we operate closely, the better we will be in terms of the application of our force”.

The author of the book ‘Operation Sindoor: Before and Beyond’, Lt Gen K J S ‘Tiny’ Dhillon (retd), said that the book covers the journey from the Pulwama and Pahalgam attacks to future strategies post the ceasefire on May 10.

Speaking to reporters, he said, “This book covers everything after independence and the build-up to Pulwama and Pahalgam, the difference between Pulwama and Pahalgam and why Pahalgam happened, and then to the launch of Operation Sindoor”.

“The selection of targets, the build-up of intelligence, the corroboration of intelligence, the synergy of operations between the three services, External Affairs Ministry, Home Ministry, and all the departments of governments, and matching of weapons to targets, destruction of targets on the intervening night of May 6 and 7, and Pakistan’s reactions on 10th of May, the ceasefire, who called it, who won and who lost. The battle of narratives, the battle of LOC, which was not covered by the media during the operation, and then the new normal. Also, the future strategy,” he added.

On Friday, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan stated that air power was “necessary” to strike terrorist camps in Pakistan’s Bahawalpur and Muridke during Operation Sindoor, which was made possible due to being given “full operational freedom” and clear directions by the Central government.

“After the Pahalgam terror attack happened, we already had enhanced precision strike capabilities. When we discussed with the political leadership, it was decided that by only using drones and loitering munitions, we will not be able to achieve the political objectives. To destroy terrorist camps in Bahawalpur and Muridke, it was necessary to use air power, that is why we had to do little bit of changes in our plans,” CDS General Chauhan said at an event in Gorakhpur.

The CDS made the remarks while speaking at an event titled ‘National Security Challenges Before India,’ organised on the first day of a seven-day-long program in Gorakhpur. The programme is being carried out from September 5 to September 11 to remember the death anniversary of Rahmaleen Yugpurush Mahant Digvijay Nath Maharaj and Rashtrasant Brahmaleen Mahant Avednath Maharaj.

“During Operation Sindoor, the political leadership provided a clear direction with a clear message to destroy the terrorist camps, and retaliate only if we are attacked. During Operation Sindoor, we were given full operational freedom, including planning and selection of targets”, the CDS said.

“India and Pakistan have also learned differently from the previous strikes. While India focused on long-range precision strike weapons and post-strike damage assessment after the 2019 Balakot airstrike, Pakistan might have focused on air defence,” General Chauhan said.

“During the surgical strikes after the 2016 Uri terror attack, the Indian Army entered Pakistan by land and destroyed the terrorist camps. We conducted airstrikes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region after Pulwama attack”, the CDS added. Speaking on the concept of ‘atmnanirbharta’ (self-reliance), General Anil Chauhan called for expanding its scope, saying that while people only look for self-reliance in defence production, in other areas, such as military.

“When we talk about national security, an important aspect of it is also self-reliance. Most people associate self-reliance only with defence manufacturing, but it should also be associated with defence research and we should be self-reliant in it. It should also be with military tactics and thinking, we should have Indian thinking,” he said.

General Chauhan also mentioned that the border dispute with China remains one of the biggest challenges, while mentioning the challenges India is facing and will continue to face “One of the first challenges is regarding the boundary dispute, because of which we have fought many wars, including in 1947 (India-Pakistan), 1962 (India-China), which are a result of that. In this, I consider the dispute with China as the biggest challenge. The second big challenge will be with Pakistan. Pakistan’s strategy has been to bleed India with a thousand cuts,” he added. (ANI)