Anil Chauhan says India delayed ceasefire reply during Operation Sindoor

Former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said Pakistan requested a ceasefire on the morning of 10 May 2025 through the Director General of Military Operations hotline, but that India deliberately delayed its response until the afternoon because planned strikes were still incomplete. Speaking at ThePrint's Off The Cuff event, Chauhan said the Indian Air Force had struck Pakistani airbases including Sargodha and Noor Khan in the early hours of 10 May, and that Pakistan sought talks after concluding its own strikes had achieved their intended effect. Operation Sindoor followed the 22 April Pahalgam attack, in which 26 tourists were killed, India said it targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. A ceasefire understanding was reached between the two countries on 10 May 2025.