One year after Operation Sindoor, India continues to exert sustained pressure on Pakistan, even though the kinetic phase of the operation has concluded. Following successful strikes on terror infrastructure and air defenses, India remains vigilant and ready to retaliate against any future provocations. Beyond military action, diplomatic and economic measures are actively impacting Islamabad, ensuring Pakistan remains militarily unbalanced and countering its narrative.
Continued Vigilance and Readiness
On May 12 of last year, just two days after Pakistan requested a ceasefire, Prime Minister Modi made it clear that Operation Sindoor was not over. The message was unequivocal: India was willing and ready to respond to any terror provocation from Pakistan. The destruction of a major portion of Pakistan's air defenses and picture-perfect bomb craters at key locations at Pakistani airbases were backed up by Prime Minister Modi's assertion that India "will not differentiate between the government sponsoring terrorism and the masterminds of terrorism."
A day later, on May 13, Prime Minister Modi, while addressing Air Force personnel at the Adampur Air Force Base, stated, "If Pakistan again shows terrorist activity or military audacity, we will give it a befitting reply. We will give this reply on our own terms, in our own way." This delivered a strong desist-or-else message to the Pakistanis. Although kinetic action on the border has ceased, other initiatives in different domains—such as suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, launching a diplomatic offensive, halting direct and indirect trade, and countering Pakistan in the information warfare spectrum—have continued since right after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Military Superiority and Post-Conflict Exercises
During the 88-hour conflict, the Indian armed forces demonstrated clear superiority over the Pakistanis. From the very first moments of the operation, Indian forces were able to hit any target of their choosing, from the terror headquarters in Bahawalpur and Muridke to secure underground bunkers across airbases in Pakistan, including critical facilities at the Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi. This caused immense panic in the top military and political circles in that country.
Since the kinetic phase of Operation Sindoor ended, the three services have held multiple exercises across the country, both individually and jointly, to validate the growing jointness between them. The largest of these wargames was the tri-services exercise held in January this year, called Exercise Trishul.
Countering Drones and Enhancing Strike Capabilities
The armed forces, having extensively destroyed a plethora of Pakistani drones during the conflict, are now procuring new systems and developing new ways to counter this emerging menace. Simultaneously, drawing on experience with long-range missiles and drones, the army is considering establishing its own rocket force to attack targets deep inside enemy territory, thereby reducing the risk to India's strategic assets.
Ongoing Pressure and Strategic Objectives
Although the kinetic phase of Operation Sindoor is now over, India achieved its initial objectives: destroying terror infrastructure and ensuring Pakistan backed down. Other aspects of Operation Sindoor, such as keeping Pakistan militarily unbalanced by ensuring a swift response to any future misadventure, maintaining a strong counter-terror grid, countering the Pakistani narrative, and applying diplomatic pressure on Pakistan, are still actively pinching Islamabad.
