Sixty years after ‘Operation Desert Hawk’ signalled the onset of Pakistan’s aggressive manoeuvres in the Rann of Kutch—and was soon followed by ‘Operation Gibraltar’ in Kashmir in 1965—history appears to be returning with renewed vengeance. On April 22, 2025, the tranquil valley of Pahalgam was shaken by a brutal terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 26 civilians. The strike, claimed by The Resistance Front, a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), stirred up long-standing animosities in South Asia, dragging India and Pakistan back into the vortex of confrontation. In a dramatic and calculated response, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ on May 7—a pre-dawn offensive involving 24 precision-guided missile strikes on nine terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). This was more than a military reprisal. It marked a declarative shift in India’s national security doctrine

Operation Sindoor hit deep. From the LeT stronghold of Muridke near Lahore to the JeM base in Bahawalpur, and from launch pads in Kotli and Muzaffarabad to radicalisation hubs in Chakwal, the strikes are claimed to have dismantled infrastructure critical to anti-India operations. Over 70 terrorists were killed and 60 injured, according to reports. What distinguished this strike from earlier retaliatory actions, such as the Balakot airstrike of 2019, was the unprecedented depth, coordination, and clarity of intent. Specifically, Indian forces avoided civilian and military targets, upholding a “measured and proportionate” approach. But the scale of the strikes and the symbolism of targeting the very heart of terror networks spoke volumes. India also followed up militarily with a set of policy responses: suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, stopping of imports and exports, closure of the Attari border, cancellation of all SAARC visa exemptions for Pakistani nationals, diplomatic downsizing, and a push for Pakistan’s international........

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