New Delhi: India on Sunday said it inflicted tremendous losses on the Pakistan military, including downing its fighter jets featuring the latest technologies and damaging key military installations close to even the capital Islamabad, during the three-day confrontation between the two sides.
Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said 35-40 Pakistani military personnel were killed in the combat, and New Delhi achieved its desired objectives and that Pakistan will have to pay a very heavy price if it resorts to any misadventure.
At a media briefing, senior military officials of the Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy provided details of Operation Sindoor, including how India repelled Pakistani attempts to target Indian military installations and civilian areas.
To a question, Air Marshal AK Bharti said India definitely downed a few Pakistani planes but refused to hazard a guess on the numbers.
“Their planes were prevented from coming inside our border. So we do not have the wreckage with us but definitely we have downed a few planes,” he said.
Asked about reports in the foreign media of losses of Indian fighter jets, Air Marshal Bharati said, “We are in a combat situation and losses are part of combat.”
“All I can say is that we have achieved our objectives that we selected and all our pilots are back home,” he said.
DGMO Lt Gen Ghai also paid tribute to five Indian fallen heroes and civilians who “tragically lost their lives” during Operation Sindoor.
“We have thus far exercised immense restraint and our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory. However, any threat to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and safety of our citizens will be met with decisive force,” he said.
On losses to the Pakistani military, the DGMO said there are reports of 35-40 fatalities.
The DGMO said it was his Pakistani counterpart who made a call to him last afternoon, requesting a way out to stop the hostilities.
The two DGMOs on Saturday afternoon agreed to stop all firing and military action on land and in the air and sea with effect from 1700 hours Indian Standard Time.
The Indian military suggested that the Pakistani DGMO’s call came after Indian Armed Forces launched a fierce counter-attack on several Pakistani military installations including Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian on Saturday morning.
The strikes were launched after the Pakistan military attempted to target major Indian military installations on the night of May 9-10.
Lt Gen Ghai said over 100 terrorists, including high-value targets such as Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed, who were involved in the hijacking of IC 814 and the Pulwama blast, were eliminated during Operation Sindoor on May 7.
Nine terror targets were identified after careful deliberations and they were hit using precision weapons, he said.
Operation Sindoor was launched on early May 7 to destroy nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack. All subsequent retaliations to Pakistani offensives were carried out under Operation Sindoor.
