Operation Sindoor: Four days in May

In the early hours of 7 May 2025, India announced Operation Sindoor, saying its armed forces had struck nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The defence ministry identified the targets as terrorist infrastructure and linked the action to the killing of 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen at Pahalgam on 22 April. [1]

The opening statement stressed that Pakistani military facilities had not been targeted. Over the following days, the confrontation widened to airbases, missiles, drones and artillery before the two countries announced an understanding to halt military action on 10 May. The initial target description cannot stand in for the whole operation. [1] [4] [6]

From initial strikes to escalation

At the 7 May briefing, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh explained India’s account of the target selection and the operation’s purpose. India presented the strikes as a focused response to terrorism, intended to deliver justice for the Pahalgam victims. [2]

Pakistan rejected that description. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told diplomats that civilian areas had been struck and that men, women and children had been killed. His briefing also claimed Indian aircraft had been brought down. Those were Pakistani official claims; India’s stated intention to avoid civilian harm did not independently establish the absence of civilian deaths. [3]

The exchange then moved further into military infrastructure. Reuters’ reconstruction described strikes on Pakistani airbases, including Nur Khan near Rawalpindi, using interviews with residents, security officials and diplomats. Pakistan acknowledged hits on its bases while disputing the scale of the damage. The existence of attacks and damage was better established than either side’s broad claims about their total effect. [4] [5]

Losses and the halt in fighting

India’s own air losses became clearer later that month. In a 31 May interview with Reuters, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan acknowledged losses during the opening phase, without providing a number. He said India had changed its tactics and subsequently carried out precision strikes deeper inside Pakistan. His acknowledgment established losses without validating Pakistan’s claimed tally or independently proving all the successes he described. [5]

The four-day fighting had ended with a military understanding on 10 May. India recorded an agreement to stop firing and action on land, in the air and at sea from 5 p.m. Indian time. Pakistan also publicly acknowledged a ceasefire understanding. [6] [7]

India’s subsequent account kept its forces on alert and framed further action as dependent on future threats. The halt in fighting was a dated operational development, while lasting deterrence remained a claim about what would happen afterwards. May’s record contains an announced strike, a wider confrontation, acknowledged losses and an agreement to stop; the competing casualty and destruction totals require evidence of their own. [5] [6]