Rajnath Singh on Operation Sindoor: No loss to the Indian military

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday (July 28) said in Lok Sabha that the Indian armed forces did not suffer any damages during Operation Sindoor, adding that instead of asking how many jets the Indian Air Force (IAF) lost, the Opposition should have asked how many enemy jets India has downed.

“The Opposition should ask if Operation Sindoor avenged the Sindoor of those women who lost their husbands in Pahalgam. The answer is yes. If the Opposition asks whether we suffered any damages, the answer is no,” said Rajnath.

“The Opposition is asking us how many jets we lost, but it is not asking how many jets of the enemy we have downed. If the Opposition wants to ask a question, it should ask whether Operation Sindoor was a success. The answer is yes,” he added.

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Operation stopped as objectives met

As for the Opposition’s demanding a clarification from the government over US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of stopping the Indo-Pak military conflict by threatening both countries of stopping trade with them, Rajnath said, “The aim of the operation was to target and destroy terror camps and demonstrate our zero tolerance to terrorism. We stopped the operation because all our objectives had been met. It is absolutely wrong to say that the operation was stopped under any influence."

“Pakistan conceded defeat after we hit their air bases on May 10 and pleaded with our DGMO to stop the hostilities. We accepted, but with the condition that the operation has only been paused, not stopped. We made it clear that if Pakistan indulges in any misadventures in the future, the Operation will resume,” he added.

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Indian action not provocative

As for the success of Operation Sindoor, Rajnath said that armed forces also gathered evidence of destruction caused at terror sites during the operation despite the dark of night.

The Defence Minister also said that the Indian DGMO informed his Pakistani counterpart the following morning of the rationale behind the attack and the fact that only terror hubs were hit by the Indian military.

“Despite this, Pakistan violated the ceasefire and escalated the situation by launching strikes at our military installations, all of which were neutralised. Our response was swift and balanced. Our action was not provocative but in self-defence,” he added.

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No intention of starting war

The Defence Minister also said that the Indian air defence systems, counter-drone systems and electronic equipment repelled all attacks from Pakistan. “ We faced no losses,” he added.

Rajnath also said that the entire world saw the image of India's bravery when the armed forces struck Pakistani air bases in Chaklala, Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan and Sukkur.

He also said that the objective of Operation Sindoor was to dismantle terror infrastructure and not to start a war.

“Capturing territory was not an objective of the operation. Overall politico-military objective was to dismantle terror, not start a war,” added the Defence Minister.

Rajnath said that with Operation Sindoor, India has drawn the red line about terror, adding that the country will not bow down to any nuclear blackmail. "India will not bend before any nuclear blackmail. The kind of response we gave in Operation Sindhur and earlier through surgical strikes should have been given long ago, but things happen when they have to," he added.