Op Sindoor paused after Pak plea, not under pressure: Rajnath dismisses Trump's claim

For the first time since the United States claimed to have mediated a halt to the May hostilities between India and Pakistan, the government clarified in Parliament on Monday that Operation Sindoor was paused at Pakistan’s request.

It said Pakistan had pleaded for a cessation of fire after the Indian Air Force successfully targeted several critical airbases inside its territory in retaliation for the escalation that followed the launch of the operation.

Opening the discussion on Pahalgam terror attack and India's military response in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the claims that Operation Sindoor was paused under anyone's pressure are completely false and baseless.

“The objective of Operation Sindoor was to punish Pakistan for using terrorism as a proxy against India and to secure justice for the victims of April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The operation never sought to capture territory. Its purpose was to attack terror nurseries being nursed by Pakistan for decades. The overall political and military objectives of the operation were successfully met.

“On May 10 morning after the Indian Air Force targeted Pakistan air bases, Pakistan accepted defeat, and pleaded to India saying ‘ab rok dijiye Maharaj’ (please stop now),” said Singh, adding that India decided to only pause Operation Sindoor and not end it.

The Defence Minister also said that after Pakistan director general military operations established contact with his Indian counterpart on May 10 morning, conceding defeat, India accepted to pause operation Sindoor with one caveat.

“The caveat was that the operation has only been paused and it has not ended. If Pakistan attempts any misadventure in future, Operation Sindoor will resume,” Rajnath said, addressing the House in the presence of key Opposition leaders, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.

Reacting to the repeated demands of the Congress-led Opposition to divulge the number of jets India lost in combat, Rajnath Singh said the question being raised by the Opposition did not represent the national sentiment.

Giving the analogy of a child who passes examinations with flying colours, he said when a child gets good marks, you celebrate the outcome because it is the result that matters.

“You do not start asking whether in the process of writing the exam, the child broke his pencil or lost his pen,” Singh said to an applause in Lok Sabha, questioning the opposition why they never asked how many enemy jets did Indian Armed Forces shot down.

The Defence Minister further stated that the Opposition should be asking whether India destroyed terror targets in Pakistan, if Operation Sindoor was successful, and whether the Indian Armed Forces eliminated the patrons of terror responsible for the Pahalgam attack, who had wiped ‘sindoor’ off the foreheads of our daughters and mothers.

“The answer to all these questions is a resounding yes. And if you ask us did any soldier suffer any harm, the answer is no. When goals are big, we should not focus on small issues because small issues deflect us from larger matters of national security and interest of our armed forces,” said the Defence Minister, sidestepping the queries of the Opposition with respect to the loss of Indian jets during Operation Sindoor.

Addressing Pakistan, Rajnath Singh said that talks and terror cannot go hand in hand.

Noting that India has always pursued the path of peace, he recalled Pakistan’s past misadventures, including the Kargil War—launched when the late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had extended a hand of friendship. He emphasised that Pakistan’s policy and intentions should be clear to all.

“Pakistan is a nursery of global terrorism. This is their state policy. Pakistan organised state funeral for terrorists as we also saw after Operation Sindoor. Pakistan army officers attended the funerals of terrorists.

“Pakistan army and ISI have both been promoting terrorism to destabilise India. But those dreaming of bleeding India with 1,000 cuts should now wake up from sleep and remember this India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go to any extent to root out terrorism,” the Defence Minister said in a warning to Pakistan.

Responding to Opposition criticism over the abrupt cessation of hostilities with Pakistan in May, Rajnath Singh said that the purpose of Operation Sindoor was neither war nor territorial expansion.

Fielding criticism of the Opposition over the abrupt cessation of hostilities with Pakistan in May, Rajnath Singh said that the purpose of Operation Sindoor was neither war nor territorial expansion.

“Operation Sindoor was paused when its objectives were successfully met. As Swami Tulsidas taught us that war is to be waged only with equals— lions fight lions, fighting frogs does not send a good signal,” he said, adding that like Lord Krishna, who picked up the Sudarshan Chakra after forgiving hundred mistakes of Shishupal, India has also picked up the ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ and decided that enough is enough.