Pakistan has disseminated narratives of corporate triumph in response to India’s lethal terrorist attack in Pahalgam, portraying India’s determined and restricted response as a sign of strategic weakness.
For a description, but, ultimately disregards the determined and intentional character of India’s operation, which was grounded in a doctrine of equal response and proper restraint.
Additionally, it ignores India’s unwavering military superiority and the structural flaws that are inherent in Pakistan’s interior social, financial, and military structures, which are both factors that severely limit Islamabad’s ability to start and sustain a full-fledged conflict.
The deliberate misstatement of India’s caution as powerlessness serves neither the people of Pakistan nor its defense creation and business in the long , work.
Operation Sindoor: a specialized, calibrated punishment
On April 22, 2025, India experienced a devastating terrorist assault in Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 citizens, including overseas visitors, were killed. On May 7, 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor, a detail military operation aimed at Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, in answer.
Despite the operating performance of India’s response, Pakistan quickly declared a proper victory, citing little damage and hostile actions reportedly taken against Indian Air Force assets. However, these assertions fail to account for the deliberate and proper caution that India exercised.
Operation Sindoor was never conceived of as a full-spectrum military relationship but rather as a military operation intended to deliver a targeted and unambiguous information. American forces carried out precision strikes that targeted criminal launchpads and administrative nodes, using advanced airpower and missile technology. Verified open-source cleverness and satellite surveillance corroborate the elimination of important criminal support infrastructure.
One of the key achievements of the activity, according to media reports, was the unmistakable elimination of Abdul Rauf Azhar, the mastermind of the murder and killing of Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002, along with dozens of other terrorists.
Abdul Rauf Azhar was apparently operating from a guarded area within Pakistan-administered place and had reestablished effective links with several multinational fundamentalist networks. His death, along with the elimination of numerous other highly-regarded criminal workers, highlights India’s level of intelligence sophistication and its ability to provide justice across borders.
This attack was not merely symbolic, it represented India’s unwavering commitment to destroy the ecosystem of impunity that has allowed international terrorism to live.
The operation fits perfectly within India’s long-standing doctrine of “active but restrained” military engagement, which seeks to reduce non-state militant capacities without compromising the regional order as a whole. This strategic calculus reflects not only India’s military capabilities but also its broader commitment to responsible international behavior.
India’s overwhelming military prowess
India’s restrained approach in Operation Sindoor should not be misinterpreted as an indicator of strategic limitation or military deficiency. It is a product of deliberate doctrinal planning and mature strategic thinking, rather than. India possesses one of the most powerful military establishments globally, equipped to address a wide spectrum of conventional and unconventional threats.
India’s armed forces have over 1.45 million active members as of 2025, which puts it in second place globally in terms of troop strength. The country’s defense budget for fiscal year 2024–25 stood at approximately US$ 81 billion – eight times larger than Pakistan’s allocation of around$ 10 billion. This financial advantage has made it possible for India to carry out significant modernization initiatives, including investing in technological advancement, force restructuring, and multi-domain capabilities.
The Indian Air Force ( IAF ) operates a fleet exceeding 2, 200 combat and support aircraft, including advanced platforms such as the Su-30MKI, Rafale, and Tejas.
The IAF’s effectiveness during Operation Sindoor was further demonstrated by its use of loitering munitions and long-range drones that precisely struck Pakistani targets, including Noor Khan and Rahimyar Khan, while avoiding and encircling Chinese-supplied air defense systems. The mission was completed in just 23 minutes, demonstrating India’s operational and technological superiority.
India’s air defense capabilities include the Pechora, OSA-AK, LLAD guns, and the short-range surface-to-air missile system Akash, as well as a mix of traditional and contemporary indigenous systems. Integrated with the Indian Air Force’s IACCS ( Integrated Air Command and Control System ), these platforms formed a multi-tiered shield that effectively neutralized multiple retaliatory attempts by Pakistan on military installations across northern and western India.
India’s ability to identify and defeat sophisticated foreign-supplied threats, such as Turkish-made UAVs and PL-15 missiles, underlined the strength of its indigenously developed electronic warfare and counter-UAS systems.
On land, the Indian Army commands over 4, 200 main battle tanks and a formidable complement of mechanized infantry and artillery units. The use of advanced systems, such as the Dhanush artillery platform, the indigenously built Arjun MBT, and the ATAGS ( Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System ), exemplifies the” Make in India” initiative’s modernization drive. These technologies played a critical role in layered ground-based air defense and strategic deterrence throughout Operation Sindoor.
With 12 destroyers, 17 frigates, and two fully operational aircraft carriers, the INS Vikramaditya and the domestically constructed INS Vikrant, the Indian Navy has made significant strides toward becoming a blue-water force, which is credible maritime dominance in the Indian Ocean Region. Complementing these assets are indigenous naval platforms including frigates, corvettes, and submarines, which contribute to a robust maritime security posture.
India’s nuclear triad, which consists of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and air-delivered nuclear weapons, strengthens its strategic deterrence. With the development of MIRV-capable systems such as Agni-V, India has firmly established itself among the world’s elite nuclear-capable states. Significant deterrent power and strategic flexibility are provided by these attributes for New Delhi.
Moreover, India’s strategic posture has evolved to encompass new domains of conflict, including space and cyber operations. The creation of the Defense Cyber Agency and the Defense Space Agency is a pro-active change in Indian military strategy that will ensure readiness in emerging and hybrid warfare environments.
India’s space-based capabilities, particularly through ISRO, were evident in Operation Sindoor, where at least ten satellites continuously monitored India’s 7, 000 km coastline and northern borders, providing critical situational awareness and command synchronization.
Additionally, the drone warfare industry has undergone a transformative evolution. India’s drone industry, supported by the Production Linked Incentive ( PLI ) scheme and a ban on imported drones, has matured rapidly. More than 550 businesses and 5,500 pilots are represented by organizations like the Drone Federation of India.
Indigenous UAVs and suicide drones, such as those developed by Alpha Design Technologies, Tata Advanced Systems, and IG Drones, were central to the success of Operation Sindoor, making India’s UAV capabilities both strategic and scalable.
Operation Sindoor should be understood as a deliberate display of disciplined power projection when viewed through this lens. The limited nature of the operation was designed to assert deterrence, reestablish red lines, and prevent destabilization in an already volatile region. The strategic restraint approach used by India in this situation is an articulation of state responsibility, not a failure of will.
Despite possessing unmatched coercive capabilities, India remains steadfast in its commitment to non-violence and peaceful coexistence, in line with the Gandhian ideals that underpin its national identity. For India, the use of force is only a last resort when national security and civilian safety are seriously endangered.
India’s historical responses to terrorism further support this pattern of calibrated and judicious conduct. India has consistently chosen precision over escalation, legality over unilateralism, from the 1993 Mumbai bombings and the 2001 Parliament attack to the 2008 Mumbai siege and the 2019 Pulwama incident. In every instance, it has pursued a path that balances deterrence with diplomacy.
Pakistan’s structural and strategic weaknesses
Pakistan’s strategic posture, in contrast, is deeply undermined by its persistent internal vulnerabilities– ranging from economic fragility and political instability to deteriorating domestic security conditions. Pakistan lacks the institutional, fiscal, and social resilience to continue fighting a protracted conventional war with India despite its public declarations of readiness.
According to projections by the International Monetary Fund, Pakistan’s GDP growth in 2025 is expected to remain subdued at approximately 2.6 %, with inflation averaging 6.0 %. The country’s external debt obligations now exceed USD 130 billion, which severely limits Islamabad’s fiscal capacity to finance large-scale military operations. The public debt has now surpassed 73 % of GDP.
Politically, Pakistan remains in turmoil. The military establishment’s interference in the 2024 general elections sparked widespread accusations of rigging, authoritarianism, and interference, which undermined democratic legitimacy and stifled national consensus. The civilian leadership remains in conflict with the military, further eroding institutional cohesion at a time when unity is critical for national defense.
Pakistan is increasingly threatened by a number of extremist and insurgent groups domestically. The resurgence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan ( TTP), along with escalating sectarian violence and an active Baloch separatist insurgency, has claimed over 300 lives among security personnel in the past year alone. Due to these internal security issues, Pakistan’s military and intelligence apparatus is under enormous strain, reducing its operational bandwidth in order to effectively respond to external threats.
Beyond domestic turmoil, Pakistan’s military readiness for sustained conflict is deeply questionable. Despite having a sizable military force, independent assessments have raised concerns about maintenance issues, munitions shortages, and outdated command structures. Reports suggest that Pakistan lacks the capacity to engage in prolonged high-intensity warfare without external assistance – a fact that further highlights the asymmetry in military preparedness between the two nations.
Additionally, political discord prevents effective strategic planning. The absence of a unified political vision and frequent civil-military friction prevent the formation of coherent long-term defense strategies. In this situation, Pakistan’s ability to effectively combat an appropriately executed Indian military campaign is severely limited.
China’s strategic overdependence is a double-edged sword.
Pakistan’s growing strategic alignment with China, particularly in the context of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor ( CPEC ), has introduced additional complexities. Despite promising investments worth more than USD 62 billion, CPEC has also raised questions about sovereignty dilution, localized resistance, and debt dependence, particularly in Balochistan.
Military cooperation with China, including joint exercises and arms transfers, has increased Islamabad’s tactical capabilities. However, strategic autonomy is at stake as a result of this dependency. The deepening asymmetry in the Sino-Pak relationship risks transforming Pakistan into a subordinate geopolitical appendage of Beijing, vulnerable to political coercion and economic exploitation.
Domestic unrest over Chinese-funded infrastructure projects, particularly those involving marginalized ethnic groups, is a reflection of wider societal unease caused by this strategic entanglement. These dynamics raise serious questions about the long-term viability of Pakistan’s current external alignments and their implications for national sovereignty.
Reevaluating the claims of victory in Pakistan
The temporary cessation of hostilities after Operation Sindoor should not be mistaken as a concession by India. Instead, it was a conditional and compassionate choice. Indian officials made it unequivocally clear that the continuation of peace is contingent upon the cessation of cross-border terrorism. In the event that Pakistan doesn’t comply, India retains both the legal justification and operational readiness to resume hostilities.
Claims of intercepting certain Indian missiles or downing a few aircraft – largely unsubstantiated when assessed against satellite imagery and independent verification – hold little significance in the broader strategic calculus. In terms of strategy, success is not based on a few tactical victories; rather, it is based on the ability to influence outcomes, maintain escalation dominance, and bolster deterrence.
Operation Sindoor accomplished its core objectives: delivering a clear message, degrading militant capabilities and reaffirming India’s regional primacy without triggering widespread destabilization.
India’s behavior both before and after the operation demonstrates a remarkable maturity of strategic thinking. It embodies a responsible power’s refusal to be baited into uncontrolled conflict while defending its citizens and sovereignty with resolve and precision.
Pakistan, in contrast, needs to reevaluate its national priorities right away. It has to abandon adventurist policies, address its internal fragmentation and pursue meaningful reforms to ensure both domestic economic and political stability and regional peace.
Not bellicose rhetoric, but rational policy, mutual respect, and an unwavering commitment to coexistence will be the key to South Asia’s strategic stability in the future. India has demonstrated its commitment. Pakistan now bears the burden of doing the same with equal responsibility and seriousness.