India Shifts Strategy with Precision Strikes.

Pratiksha Ghosh 

New Delhi, May 22 2025:India has delivered a decisive message to Pakistan through precision missile strikes deep inside its territory in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, marking a significant shift in the country’s strategic posture.

Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Command, said that India had effectively challenged Pakistan’s long-standing nuclear deterrence narrative.

The strikes—code named “Operation sindoor”—targeted key sites across Pakistan Punjab and 11 airbases spread throughout the country. General Katiyar emphasised that the operation showcased India’s enhanced military capabilities and clear intent to retaliate against cross-border terrorism.

"This is a major departure from our past approach. We have moved from deterrence by threat to deterrence by punishment," the General said from his headquarters in Chandimandir. 

"The leadership in Pakistan has now understood that India will strike hard, at a time and place of its choosing."

He underlined that the operation had not only exposed the vulnerability of Pakistan’s defense infrastructure but also put to rest the notion that India would hold back due to fears of nuclear escalation. “The nuclear bluff has been effectively called,” said Gen Katiyar.

Drawing attention to past attacks in the J&K Assembly (2000), Indian Parliament (2001), Mumbai (2008), Uri (2016), Pulwama (2019), and the recent Pahalgam attack—he noted that Pakistan had continued its proxy war under the assumption that nuclear deterrence would prevent a direct Indian military response. Operation Sindoor, he said, broke that pattern.

The General further accused Pakistan’s military establishment of direct collusion with terrorist groups. “The link between Pakistan’s ISI and terror outfits is well known,” he said, adding that the world should take note of the increasing evidence of state-sponsored terrorism. He pointed to visuals of Pakistani soldiers attending the funerals of slain militants as proof of the military's involvement.

Recalling India’s response post-Parliament attack in 2001, when the military mobilized for nearly a year under Operation Parakram without engaging militarily, General Katiyar highlighted how far Indian strategic thinking has evolved.

“From surgical strikes in 2016 to air strikes in 2019, and now to a full-scale, coordinated operation like Sindoor, the shift is clear,” he stated. He added that India’s military was fully prepared for any escalation, with all three services demonstrating joint operational readiness.

The General concluded that Operation Sindoor had sent a dual message—to Pakistan, about India’s resolve and military capabilities; and to the global community, about the dangers of ignoring the nexus between terrorism and Pakistan’s state machinery.