Operation Sindoor has conveyed certain irrefutable messages, and fulfilled some incontrovertible goals. First, Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in our territory will be firmly responded to. Second, this response will not be restricted to a surgical strike or a single attack like Balakot, but will involve a retaliation that is far wider and will penetrate deep into Pakistan, hitting terrorist bases and military infrastructure. Third, this response will not be deterred by the threat of nuclear reprisals, and that India will pursue conventional war without hesitation, even if it means raising the escalatory ladder.

The goals that seem to have been achieved are that Pakistan has seen a new side of Indian resolve, of a magnitude it may not have expected. Secondly, it does appear that considerable damage has been inflicted on some of Pakistan’s major terrorist training centres and their military facilities, especially airports and air defence systems. Thirdly, a new doctrine has been enunciated, ‘the new normal’, that in future acts of terror will be tantamount to a declaration of war by India. India will no longer be a passive victim of Pakistan’s malevolent terrorist infrastructure.

What remains slightly inexplicable is the abrupt ceasefire we agreed to. Far more facts than are currently available need to be shared in the........

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