New Delhi: For the first time since the US claimed to have mediated to prevent military escalation between India and Pakistan in May, the Indian government on Monday clarified that Operation Sindoor was halted at Pakistan’s own request, not due to any international pressure.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s military response, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the operation was never aimed at capturing territory, but at punishing Pakistan for using terrorism as a tool against India.
“The claims that Operation Sindoor was stopped under someone’s pressure are completely false and baseless,” Singh said. “The objective of the operation was to punish Pakistan for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and to strike at the terrorist nurseries that Pakistan has nurtured for decades.”
He said the Indian Air Force carried out precision strikes targeting several key Pakistani air bases on the morning of May 10. “After these strikes, Pakistan accepted its defeat and requested India, saying ‘Ab rok dijiye Maharaj’,” Singh told the House. “India decided to halt the operation, but it was not called off—only paused.”
The Defence Minister asserted that the political and military objectives of Operation Sindoor had been successfully achieved. “The mission was to deliver justice to the victims of terrorism, and that has been done. This was never about occupying land, but about sending a clear message that cross-border terrorism will not be tolerated.”
The government’s clarification comes amid repeated claims by former US President Donald Trump that Washington played a role in preventing a military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The External Affairs Ministry had earlier denied any such mediation, stating that there were no communications between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump during the crucial period following the Pahalgam attack.
