Acts of terror will carry consequences and Operation Sindoor has shown that no sanctuary across the frontier is safe, India’s top military brass said on Thursday, marking the first anniversary of the covert assault on mainland Pakistan that was carried out as retribution for the Pahalgam terror attack.

In a warning to Pakistan, the military said India would continue to dismantle terrorist infrastructure under the “new normal”, enunciated following the Pahalgam attack in April last year that killed 26 people.

The military leadership said the strategic successes of Operation Sindoor marked a major shift in India’s security doctrine against cross-border terrorism and also offered invaluable combat experience to the armed forces.

“No sanctuary across the Line of Control is safe. We will hit everything. We will go after everything and that has been made clear in the new normal that the Prime Minister said last year. But the conditions, the timing and the method will be ours,” said deputy chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, in a tri-service joint media briefing in Jaipur.

During Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year, India had destroyed nine terror camps — four within Pakistan’s territory and five in PoK — all linked to banned outfits, including the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed, and the Hizbul Mujahideen.

Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, the deputy chief of air staff, said India’s military objectives remained limited and focused strictly on terror infrastructure and the mission had sent out a resounding message: “We delivered the message and the message was very clear — acts of terror will carry consequences.”

The target, he said, was terrorists and their support infrastructure, ensuring there was no collateral damage.

“We achieved our objectives, and our mission was complete. But when the Pakistani establishment decided to side with terror and make it their own fight, we had no choice but to respond in kind. It was more of self-defence,” he said.

“When we responded, it was lethal and ruthless. After taking the beating, sense kicked in the adversary, and they asked for a cessation of hostilities. We paused when the request came. The forces were given full operational freedom.”

US President Donald Trump has claimed many times that it was he who got India and Pakistan to stop hostilities. India says no third country was involved in that decision.

Lt Gen. Ghai said the mission saw India moving “beyond its earlier approaches and methods” to target terror infrastructure across the Line of Control “with precision and clarity” and cautioned that Operation Sindoor was not an end.

“It was just the beginning. India’s fight against terror will go on. A year on, we remember not just the operation but also the principle behind it. India will defend its sovereignty, its security, and its people decisively, professionally and with the utmost responsibility,” he said.

Operation Sindoor, Ghai said, showcased capabilities of India’s indigenous weapons systems and platforms, including BrahMos and Akash
missiles, homegrown surveillance and targeting systems and ammunition.

The director-general of naval operations, Vice Admiral A.N. Pramod, said that by striking the terror hubs in the heart of Pakistan using long-range precision weapons, India effectively called the bluff on Pakistan’s “nuclear blackmail”.

Air Marshal Bharti said the Indian Air Force had been constantly monitoring the activities of China and Pakistan.

PM’s vows

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said Operation Sindoor reflected “India’s firm response against terrorism and an unwavering commitment to safeguarding national security”.

“Today, a year later, we remain as steadfast as ever in our resolve to defeat terrorism and destroy its enabling ecosystem,” he said in a post on X.

Modi changed the display pictures on his social media handles to mark the anniversary and asked everyone to do the same as a mark of respect for the armed forces and their success. The DP had Operation Sindoor written against a black background, along with the picture of a Tricolour, with one of the ‘O’s of Sindoor filled with vermilion.