Defence minister Rajnath Singh with Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi and Defence Secretary, Rajesh Kumar Singh

In the Lok Sabha’s Monsoon Session, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh explained at length why India decided to pause its military action against Pakistan—dubbed Operation Sindoor—in May 2025. Singh categorically stated that the operation was halted not due to any external pressure or diplomatic constraint, but because India had achieved all its predetermined political and military objectives.

Operation Sindoor was launched in direct response to the gruesome Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, where 26 civilians, mostly tourists, were killed after being singled out on religious grounds by terrorists linked to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, operating through its proxy, The Resistance Front. 

India’s objective was clear: to deliver a decisive and proportional blow to the terror infrastructure within Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and thereby deter further acts of cross-border terrorism—without instigating a full-scale war.

Singh detailed that Indian armed forces, after careful intelligence gathering and extensive operational planning, executed precision strikes targeting nine key terror camps. The strikes were conducted with utmost care to cause maximal damage to terrorist infrastructure while avoiding civilian casualties. 

According to Singh, seven terror camps were completely destroyed, and there is intelligence evidence of substantial damage inside Pakistan and PoK. Importantly, India did not suffer any military casualties during the operation, nor were significant assets lost.

The specific military actions were completed swiftly: the main phase of the operation reportedly lasted just 22 minutes, during which "the Pahalgam killings were avenged" and India’s key aims were accomplished. The strikes disrupted Pakistan’s ability to escalate further, damaging its military infrastructure and extracting a high strategic cost.

Singh emphasised that any claims suggesting that India’s hand was forced by international actors or nuclear fears were “baseless and absolutely wrong.”

He reaffirmed that the Indian government’s motivation was justice for the victims of the Pahalgam attack, and to send an unequivocal message that the sheltering or nurturing of terrorism by any nation—including Pakistan—would elicit decisive, robust, and precise retaliation from India.

Further, Singh reiterated that Operation Sindoor stands as evidence of a transformed Indian doctrine: one that replaces strategic restraint with calibrated, politically clear use of force.

He warned Pakistan that the pause was not an end, but a conditional de-escalation: should Pakistan again indulge in cross-border terrorism, Indian military action would promptly resume.

Rajnath Singh’s Lok Sabha address clarified that India's pausing of military operations was a sovereign decision based entirely on having achieved its set objectives—demonstrating both capability and resolve—while dispelling notions of external pressure or unfinished business.

Agencies