# PM Modi ordered unthinkable lesson for Pakistan: former CDS 2026-08-26T04:38:40+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan (retd) has disclosed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered an 'unthinkable' and 'big lesson' response against Pakistan after the April 2024 Pahalgam terror attack. At an April 29 meeting with the Defence Minister, NSA and three service chiefs, Modi told the forces to 'do it at your own time, but ensure no failure' and 'we should have evidence', Chauhan said at a New Delhi event. The Bahawalpur target, linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, was added to the list on the Defence Minister's insistence. Operation Sindoor, conducted in May 2025, struck nine terror infrastructure sites in Pakistan and PoK, killing over 100 terrorists. Chauhan said midnight strikes were chosen for surprise and to minimise civilian casualties. Modi made clear he was under no political pressure for immediate action, allowing forces to pick the timing. The former CDS noted the Chiefs of Staff Committee met 4-5 times between April 23 and 29 to finalise options. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Operation Sindoor marks a rare instance where India's military leadership has publicly detailed the political directive behind a cross-border strike. The 2025 strikes followed a pattern set by the 2019 Balakot air strikes, but this time the government insisted on real-time evidence of hits, a shift from earlier practice. The targets in Bahawalpur and Muridke are linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, the group blamed for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 tourists. The Defence Minister's insistence on including Bahawalpur suggests a deliberate escalation beyond pre-2019 target sets. The next signal to watch is whether India's deterrence framework now includes a stated policy of striking at any hour, even midnight, to maintain tactical surprise, and whether Pakistan's response alters the cross-border firing pattern along the Line of Control. ## Coverage - rediff.com Leads with former CDS's account of PM's directive, treats it as authoritative inside story of Operation Sindoor decision-making This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Anil Chauhan, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Narendra Modi, Operation Sindoor, Pahalgam attack, Pakistan Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/pm-modi-ordered-unthinkable-lesson-for-pakistan-former-cds/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/pm-modi-ordered-unthinkable-lesson-for-pakistan-former-cds/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/