Op Sindoor not over, preparedness to meet any challenge from Pakistan continues: Lt Gen Katiyar

Over four months after India carried out precision strikes deep inside Pakistan as part of Operational Sindoor in retribution to the terrorist attack in Palaglam that killed 26 persons in April, the operation is not yet over.

“Operation Sindoor continues,” General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar, said on Saturday. “After the ceasefire on May 10, there has been no incident on ground. The operation was part of our preparedness for war and it is continuing to check any misadventure by Pakistan,” he said.

“We hope that Pakistan does not indulge in any such act again, but we do not have full trust in it. There may be elements inside Pakistan that may perpetuate a terrorist attack and in case of such an incident, we have no other option but to retaliate,” he said. “The purpose of the Pahalgam attack was not only to disturb peace in Kashmir but it also had a deeper motive to create unrest and ferment trouble in other parts of the country,” he added.

Linking Operation Sindoor with the Indo-Pak War, the Diamond Jubilee of which is being commemorated this month, Lt Gen Katiyar said that in 1965 Pakistan forced a war on India and we retaliated and defeated it badly. “The same has happened in 2025. Now, 60 years later, Pakistan again tried to destabilise India, but be responded and carried out successful attacks on terrorist camps as well as their military bases and airbases causing significant damage,” he said.

Stating that the 1965 war was very significant as it instilled the nation’s confidence in the Army after the 1962 debacle, the Army Commander said that the war threw up important lessons, some of which were still relevant today and are being incorporated into the Army’s thinking.

“One of the most important lessons was that while technology is very necessary, the man behind the machine is also very important. In 1965, Pakistan had some technologically superior equipment but we prevailed on the battle field because of our troops,” he said.

Some things in war are fundamental and do not change, such as the intent to annihilate the enemy and capture his territory. Even today, our training of focused on this aspect, he added.

Taking about futuristic operations, he said the Army would be using drones in a big way and the same was witnessed during Operation Sindoor. Stating that drones are also being used in other field, he said a lot of drone manufacturing units have come up in the country and the Army is also exploiting its in-house talent and expertise to design and develop drones for operational purposes. “Future wars would be fought by missiles and drones and the Army is adapting this technology in a big way,” he said.