In the second edition of the special Operation Sindoor Air Marshal AK Bharti made it clear that India's fight was with the terrorists and not the Pakistani army. Reiterating the fact, he said, 'the damage to Pakistan was something they brought upon themselves.'
Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/operation-sindoor-how-the-mirage-2000s-flaws-helped-dassault-build-the-rafale-fighter-jet-9060812">Operation Sindoor: How the Mirage 2000&rsquo;s flaws helped Dassault build the Rafale fighter jet</a>
"Our fight was with terrorists and their support infrastructure and not with Pakistan military," said Air Marshal AK Bharti
"However, it is a pity that the Pakistan military chose to intervene and bat for the terrorists, which compelled us to respond in kind," he added.
Talking about the combat situation, he said, "Our battle-proven systems stood the test of time and take them head on. Another highlight has been the stellar performance of the indigenous air defence system, the Akash system.&nbsp;Putting together and operationalising the potent AD environment has been possible only because of budgetary and policy support from the government of India in the last decade."
Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/whether-it-is-turkish-drone-or-anything-else-it-fails-in-front-of-our-technology-air-marshal-ak-bharti-operation-sindoor-9060520">'Whether it is Turkish drone or anything else, it fails in front of our technology': Air Marshal AK Bharti</a>
Operation Sindoor has been a success, for it thwarted the aggression from the Pakistani side, "Numerous waves of drones and unmanned combat aerial vehicles employed by Pakistan were also thwarted by the indigenously developed soft and hard kill counter-UAS systems and the well-trained Indian Air Defence personnel."
<h3>Operation Sindoor</h3>
India has been clear on it's stance as it launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation to the dastardly attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, "It was deemed essential that the perpetrators and planners of the 22 April attack be brought to justice. Despite a fortnight having passed since the attacks, there has been no demonstrable step from Pakistan to take action against the terror infrastructure on its territory or territory under its control."
He added, "Instead, all it has indulged in denials and allegations. Our intelligence monitoring of Pakistan-based terrorist modules indicated that further attacks against India were impending. Thus, there was a compulsion both to deter and to preempt."
A fortnight later, India continues to mourn the death of innocent tourists, who we brutally killed in front of their loved ones. The images have numbed the country and they were angered by the dastardly attack. After the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008, this one shook the nation.

In the second edition of the special Operation Sindoor Air Marshal AK Bharti made it clear that India's fight was with the terrorists and not the Pakistani army. India news

In the second edition of the special Operation Sindoor Air Marshal AK Bharti made it clear that India's fight was with the terrorists and not the Pakistani army. Reiterating the fact, he said, 'the damage to Pakistan was something they brought upon themselves.' Also read: Operation Sindoor: How the Mirage 2000’s flaws helped Dassault build the Rafale fighter jet "Our fight was with terrorists and their support infrastructure and not with Pakistan military," said Air Marshal AK Bharti "However, it is a pity that the Pakistan military chose to intervene and bat for the terrorists, which compelled us to respond in kind," he added. Talking about the combat situation, he said, "Our battle-proven systems stood the test of time and take them head on. Another highlight has been the stellar performance of the indigenous air defence system, the Akash system. Putting together and operationalising the potent AD environment has been possible only because of budgetary and policy support from the government of India in the last decade." Also read: 'Whether it is Turkish drone or anything else, it fails in front of our technology': Air Marshal AK Bharti Operation Sindoor has been a success, for it thwarted the aggression from the Pakistani side, "Numerous waves of drones and unmanned combat aerial vehicles employed by Pakistan were also thwarted by the indigenously developed soft and hard kill counter-UAS systems and the well-trained Indian Air Defence personnel." Operation Sindoor India has been clear on it's stance as it launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation to the dastardly attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, "It was deemed essential that the perpetrators and planners of the 22 April attack be brought to justice. Despite a fortnight having passed since the attacks, there has been no demonstrable step from Pakistan to take action against the terror infrastructure on its territory or territory under its control." He added, "Instead, all it has indulged in denials and allegations. Our intelligence monitoring of Pakistan-based terrorist modules indicated that further attacks against India were impending. Thus, there was a compulsion both to deter and to preempt." A fortnight later, India continues to mourn the death of innocent tourists, who we brutally killed in front of their loved ones. The images have numbed the country and they were angered by the dastardly attack. After the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008, this one shook the nation.

India-Pak news | 'Fight was with terrorists, Pak army made it their war': Air Marshal AK Bharti at Operation Sindoor briefing

Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti is a decorated officer of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/tags/indian-air-force">Indian Air Force</a> (IAF), who is presently serving as the Director General Air Operations (DGAO) in Air Headquarters in New Delhi.
Commissioned into the fighter branch on 13 June 1987, he has had a successful and eventful career based on operational competence, combat aviation leadership, and command assignments in strategy.
Air Marshal AK Bharti was commissioned into the IAF's flying branch in 1987. He is a fighter combat leader and a postgraduate of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) and the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/tags/national-defence-college" rel="dofollow">National Defence College</a> (NDC).
<h2>A stellar career</h2>
He led a Sukhoi-30 MKI squadron from August 2005 to September 2007, where he was instrumental in operationalising the weapon systems of the aircraft and developing tactics. The squadron, under his command, was involved in major exercises such as Gagan Shakti, Indradhanush 2006 (with the Royal Air Force), and Garuda 2007 (with the French Air Force).
Air Marshal AK Bharti has also served in a number of significant staff assignments, including Joint Director of Air Defence Operations at Air HQ, Principal Director (operations, information and electronic warfare), and Chief Staff Officer (air vector strategy) at the Strategic Forces Command.
He was the Senior Air Staff Officer at Central Air Command and Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Ops Offensive, prior to taking up his present assignment as Director General Air Operations in October 2024.
Bharti was conferred with the Vayu Sena Medal in 2008 for outstanding commitment to duty, specifically for his role in operationalising the Sukhoi-30 MKI squadron and improving its combat effectiveness. He was awarded&nbsp;CAS Commendation in 1997 by the Chief of Air Staff for work devotion. Besides this, he has also been awarded&nbsp;Accident-Free Flying and was awarded 'Three Stars' for accident-free flying, which indicates outstanding performance.
After a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's <a href="https://www.wionews.com/tags/pahalgam">Pahalgam</a> on April 22, 2025, where 26 innocent lives were lost,&nbsp;the Indian Armed Forces launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/tags/operation-sindoor">Operation Sindoor</a>, an integrated military action against terrorist camps and military facilities in Pakistan.
As the DGAO, Air Marshal Bharti was at the forefront of planning and conducting precision air strikes. He attested that the IAF effectively targeted strategic locations, such as terrorist training camps in Bahawalpur and Muridke, and Pakistani air bases like Chaklala, Rafiq, and Rahim Yar Khan.&nbsp;

India News: Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti is a distinguished officer of the IAF, currently serving as the Director General Air Operations at Air Headquarters

Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti is a decorated officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF), who is presently serving as the Director General Air Operations (DGAO) in Air Headquarters in New Delhi. Commissioned into the fighter branch on 13 June 1987, he has had a successful and eventful career based on operational competence, combat aviation leadership, and command assignments in strategy. Air Marshal AK Bharti was commissioned into the IAF's flying branch in 1987. He is a fighter combat leader and a postgraduate of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) and the National Defence College (NDC). A stellar career He led a Sukhoi-30 MKI squadron from August 2005 to September 2007, where he was instrumental in operationalising the weapon systems of the aircraft and developing tactics. The squadron, under his command, was involved in major exercises such as Gagan Shakti, Indradhanush 2006 (with the Royal Air Force), and Garuda 2007 (with the French Air Force). Air Marshal AK Bharti has also served in a number of significant staff assignments, including Joint Director of Air Defence Operations at Air HQ, Principal Director (operations, information and electronic warfare), and Chief Staff Officer (air vector strategy) at the Strategic Forces Command. He was the Senior Air Staff Officer at Central Air Command and Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Ops Offensive, prior to taking up his present assignment as Director General Air Operations in October 2024. Bharti was conferred with the Vayu Sena Medal in 2008 for outstanding commitment to duty, specifically for his role in operationalising the Sukhoi-30 MKI squadron and improving its combat effectiveness. He was awarded CAS Commendation in 1997 by the Chief of Air Staff for work devotion. Besides this, he has also been awarded Accident-Free Flying and was awarded 'Three Stars' for accident-free flying, which indicates outstanding performance. After a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, where 26 innocent lives were lost, the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor, an integrated military action against terrorist camps and military facilities in Pakistan. As the DGAO, Air Marshal Bharti was at the forefront of planning and conducting precision air strikes. He attested that the IAF effectively targeted strategic locations, such as terrorist training camps in Bahawalpur and Muridke, and Pakistani air bases like Chaklala, Rafiq, and Rahim Yar Khan.

Commander of the skies | Who is Air Marshal AK Bharti? IAF's architect behind Operation Sindoor

Air Marshal AK Bharti, in a detailed briefing on Sunday (May 11), outlined the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/tags/indian-air-force">Indian Air Force</a>&rsquo;s (IAF) precise and strategic response to the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives. Speaking on <a href="https://www.wionews.com/tags/operation-sindoor">Operation Sindoor</a>, Bharti revealed how the IAF targeted key terrorist and military infrastructure deep within Pakistan with calculated force and precision.
He said that after comprehensive target system analysis, the IAF was tasked with striking nine high-value targets, including the well-known terrorist training camps in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/tags/bahawalpur" rel="dofollow">Bahawalpur</a> and Muridke &mdash; both located deep inside Pakistani territory.
&ldquo;Of the nine designated targets, the Indian Air Force was assigned the notorious terrorist training camps in Bahawalpur and Muridke, both located deeper within Pakistani territory. After thorough target system analysis, we executed precision strikes using air-to-surface guided munitions to ensure effective engagement and minimal collateral damage," said Air Marshal AK Bharti.
<h2 data-start="836" data-end="967">Watch the full video here:</h2>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
"More than 100 terrorists killed in 9 terror hubs": India releases satellite images, showing the extent of damage to Pakistan's military bases as part of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OperationSindoor?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OperationSindoor</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZxDdsOLNdR">pic.twitter.com/ZxDdsOLNdR</a>
&mdash; WION (@WIONews) <a href="https://twitter.com/WIONews/status/1921561170390999065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2025</a></blockquote>

<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Air Marshal, while explaining how the '<a href="https://www.wionews.com/tags/operation-sindoor">Operation Sindoor</a>' was carried out, said that on the evening of May 7, the forces were confronted with a series of Pakistani unmanned aerial vehicle and small drone raids. "These came in waves over our civilian areas and military installations. All of them were successfully intercepted. While a few did manage to land, the damage they caused was minimal," said Bharti.
On the night of the May 8 and 9, beginning around 8:30 pm, a massive wave of drones, UAVs, and UCAVs was launched by the adversary, spanning from Srinagar to Nalya. "It was a coordinated mass raid conducted in relentless waves. However, due to our robust air defense preparedness, no damage occurred &mdash; neither to strategic targets nor to civilian areas," said Bharti.
"A decision was taken to strike where it would hurt and towards that in a swift, coordinated, calibrated attack, we stuck its Air bases, command centers, military infrastructure, air defence systems across the entire Western Front. The bases we stuck includes Chaklala, Rafiq, Rahim Yar Khan sending a clear message that aggression will not be tolerated. This was followed by strikes at Sargodha, Bhulari, and Jacobabad...We have the capability to target every system at these bases and more..." said Air Marshal AK Bharti.

India News: The Indian Armed Forces confirmed Indian air strikes on terror camps in Pakistan killed hundred terrorists, including those involved in hijacking of IC-814

Air Marshal AK Bharti, in a detailed briefing on Sunday (May 11), outlined the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) precise and strategic response to the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives. Speaking on Operation Sindoor, Bharti revealed how the IAF targeted key terrorist and military infrastructure deep within Pakistan with calculated force and precision. He said that after comprehensive target system analysis, the IAF was tasked with striking nine high-value targets, including the well-known terrorist training camps in Bahawalpur and Muridke — both located deep inside Pakistani territory. “Of the nine designated targets, the Indian Air Force was assigned the notorious terrorist training camps in Bahawalpur and Muridke, both located deeper within Pakistani territory. After thorough target system analysis, we executed precision strikes using air-to-surface guided munitions to ensure effective engagement and minimal collateral damage," said Air Marshal AK Bharti. Watch the full video here: "More than 100 terrorists killed in 9 terror hubs": India releases satellite images, showing the extent of damage to Pakistan's military bases as part of #OperationSindoor pic.twitter.com/ZxDdsOLNdR — WION (@WIONews) May 11, 2025 The Air Marshal, while explaining how the 'Operation Sindoor' was carried out, said that on the evening of May 7, the forces were confronted with a series of Pakistani unmanned aerial vehicle and small drone raids. "These came in waves over our civilian areas and military installations. All of them were successfully intercepted. While a few did manage to land, the damage they caused was minimal," said Bharti. On the night of the May 8 and 9, beginning around 8:30 pm, a massive wave of drones, UAVs, and UCAVs was launched by the adversary, spanning from Srinagar to Nalya. "It was a coordinated mass raid conducted in relentless waves. However, due to our robust air defense preparedness, no damage occurred — neither to strategic targets nor to civilian areas," said Bharti. "A decision was taken to strike where it would hurt and towards that in a swift, coordinated, calibrated attack, we stuck its Air bases, command centers, military infrastructure, air defence systems across the entire Western Front. The bases we stuck includes Chaklala, Rafiq, Rahim Yar Khan sending a clear message that aggression will not be tolerated. This was followed by strikes at Sargodha, Bhulari, and Jacobabad...We have the capability to target every system at these bases and more..." said Air Marshal AK Bharti.

Inside story of Operation Sindoor: Air Marshal AK Bharti explains how IAF coordinated strikes on Pakistan’s terror strongholds