‘Pakistan called for ceasefire, we kept them waiting’: Ex-CDS Anil Chauhan recalls Operation Sindoor
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Pakistan called for ceasefire, we kept them waiting’: Ex-CDS Anil Chauhan recalls Operation Sindoor")
Genl Anil Chauhan said the IAF struck Sargodha and Noor Khan airbases, severely disrupting Pakistan Air Force operations Photograph: (X)
India was determined to achieve its military objectives before considering a ceasefire, with additional waves of strikes already planned to demonstrate that no military installation inside Pakistan was beyond reach for the Indian Armed Forces, former CDS General Anil Chauhan said.
Former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan has revealed that Pakistan had called on the morning of May 10 last year and requested a ceasefire during Operation Sindoor, but India deliberately delayed its response as it had “not even executed half” of their planned strikes.
As India was determined to achieve its military objectives with additional waves of strikes already planned
Pakistan contacted India through the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) hotline in the morning, but New Delhi deliberately kept Islamabad waiting till the afternoon, Gen Chauhan said, while speaking at a media event.
‘We had not even executed half of our plans’
“The biggest surprise to me was on 10 May, when Pakistan picked up the phone and said they wanted to talk. This was because, on 9 May, the kind of rhetoric emerging from their side was that they would sort India out in 48 hours. Within about eight hours, they picked up the phone. We had not even executed half of our plans,” General Chauhan recalled.
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The former CDS said India was determined to achieve its military objectives before considering a ceasefire, with additional waves of strikes already planned to demonstrate that no military installation inside Pakistan was beyond reach for the Indian Armed Forces.
He said Indian operations were still in progress when Pakistan initiated contact through the DGMO hotline.
“I think the reason why they picked up the phone around 9 or 9.30 on the morning of 10 May was because of the air power,” he said.
IAF strikes on key airbases severely disrupted Pakistan Air Force operations
General Chauhan said the IAF struck key Pakistani airbases, including Sargodha and Noor Khan, in the early hours of 10 May, severely disrupting Pakistan Air Force operations.
“A couple of these airfields were hit around midnight, 4 or 5 in the morning,” he added, noting that with airstrips gone, they could no longer generate sorties.
Pakistan realised that its ability to sustain air operations was rapidly diminishing, said the former CDS, adding that the Pakistani military planners believed that the attacks they had launched between 1 am and about 9 am had inflicted significant damage on India.
“They thought they would have done enough damage, and now it was better to talk. Otherwise, it would go beyond that,” General Chauhan said.
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Operation Sindoor was launched as India’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 last year, when at least 26 civilians, of which 25 were Indian, were gunned down by Pakistan-linked terrorists after segregating them on religious lines.
Indian security forces later gunned down the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack.
During the tri-forces operation, the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force carried out strikes on nine terror camps across the border. The military operation led to a four-day standoff between India and Pakistan, triggering blackouts and air raid sirens along the LoC and International Border.
