Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday (July 28, 2025) asserted that Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, was only “paused” and the military action will resume if Pakistan indulged in any fresh misadventure.
Opening the debate on Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Singh asserted that “decisive action has replaced dossiers” and new India can go to any extent to uproot terrorism. He said the idea behind the military strikes was not to start a war but force the adversary to bend through demonstrative use of force.
During the special discussion, titled “India’s strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam,” the Defence Minister said the military action against Pakistan had sent a clear message to supporters of terrorism that India was committed to defend its motherland.
“Today, dossiers have been replaced by decisive action. Today’s India thinks differently and acts differently. We believe that if the adversary uses terrorism as part of strategy and does not understand the language of peace, then standing firm and being decisive is the only option,” Mr. Singh said.
Without specifically referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim about bringing to hostilities an end between India and Pakistan, the Defence Minister asserted that military action was paused as armed forces had achieved “overall politico-military objectives”. Asserting it is “completely incorrect and baseless to say that the military action it was stopped because of pressure,” Mr. Singh said Pakistan’s Director-General of Military Operations had requested his Indian counterpart to end the strikes.
“The objective of Operation Sindoor was to destroy the terror nurseries raised by Pakistan over the years. The objective was to provide justice to the families who lost their loved ones in the Pahalgam terror attack,” Mr. Singh informed.
The Defence Minister also lashed out at the Opposition for asking “how many of our planes were being shot down” instead of asking how many enemy planes were destroyed by the Indian Air Force.
“It is the Opposition’s job to ask questions of the government. Our Opposition members kept asking how many of our aircraft were shot down, but they never asked how many Pakistani planes our forces had shot down,” Mr. Singh said, adding, “In any examination, the result matters. If a child scores well in an exam, we should focus on their marks, not whether their pencil broke or their pen was lost during the test. Ultimately, the result matters, and the result is that our forces achieved all the objectives set during Operation Sindoor”
The Defence Minister said Pakistan initially rejected India’s rationale of targeting terror outfits specifically and sought to escalate the situation by targeting India’s civil and military infrastructure by using missiles, drones, rockets, including long-range ones. “However, they failed to cause any damage to any establishment,” he said.
Intervening briefly, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi asked “Aapne roki kyun [Why did you halt]”. The question had ruling party members on their feet but Mr. Singh said he had already spoken about it. “Operation Sindoor is symbol of our strength… demonstrated that India will not remain silent if anyone harms its citizens,” the Defence Minister said.
Noting that successive governments have tried to maintain good relations, Mr. Singh said India first extends the hand of friendship, but it also knows how to twist the wrist if any country betrays it.
Janata Dal (United) leader and Union Minister for Panchayati Raj, Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan, accused the Opposition of spreading misinformation that the U.S. President had effected the truce between India and Pakistan.
