India-Pakistan War: 8 key points from Ministry of Defence presser post ceasefire understanding

Ministry of Defence Briefing (Image credit: X)

A day after the escalations between India and Pakistan came to a halt with a ceasefire understanding between the two neighbours, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) held a briefing to provide details on ‘Operation Sindoor’ – launched in the aftermath of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack. 

The key media briefing was led by Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), Air Marshal AK Bharti, Vice Admiral AN Pramod and Major General SS Sharda. 

Here are some key points from the MoD briefing:

1. Highlighting the aim of ‘Operation Sindoor’, DGMO Rajiv Ghai said, “Operation Sindoor was conceptualized with a clear military aim to punish the perpetrators and planners of terror and to destroy their terror infrastructure. What I do not state here is the often stated determination of India and its intolerance to terror.”

2. Sharing screengrabs of the terror camps destroyed in Pak and Pak-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) under ‘Operation Sindoor’, Lt Gen Ghai confirmed that more than 100 terrorists were killed in the military operation. 

3. Indian strikes across the nine terror hubs also killed terrorists including –  Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed – who were involved in the hijack of IC814 and the Pulwama blast. 

4. The Pakistan Army has reported to have lost approximately 35 to 40 personal in artillery and small arms firing on the Line of Control between May 7 and 10, said Lt General Rajiv Ghai. 

5. On May 8, as Air Marshal AK Bharti said, several Pakistani unmanned Aerial Systems, Drones, Combat vehicles attacked multiple IAF bases in Jammu, Udhamur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Bathinda, Dalhousie, Jaisalmer. However, all these waves were neutralised by the Indian air defence guns and other systems. 

6. Air Marshal Bharti further confirmed that India launched strikes at Pak’s air bases, command centres, military infrastructure, air defense systems. The air bases destroyed by India include – Chaklala, Rafiq, Rahim Yar Khan, Sargodha, Bhulari, and Jacobabad. 

7. Speaking about the ceasefire violation by Pak, DGMO Ghai stated that the Islamabad’s counterpart has been given a clear message that if the same is repeated tonight, subsequently or later, the Chief of Army Staff has granted full authority to our army commander for counteraction. 

8. Last but not the least, Vice Admiral AN Pramod warned Pak. “…This time if Pakistan dares to take any action, Pakistan knows what we are going to do”, he said during the address.