Air Marshal Bharti on Operation Sindoor: Terror camps decimated, casualties for Pakistan to count | India News

NEW DELHI: Air Marshal AK Bharti on Sunday briefed on Operation Sindoor and said that the armed forces successfully destroyed terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir achieving its objectives with precision.During a press briefing regarding Operation Sindoor, he said the results were evident to the world.Regarding the operation, Air Marshal Bharti said, “Have we achieved our objectives of decimating the terrorist camps, and the answer is a thumping yes, and the results are for the whole world to see.”‘Our job to hit target, not count body bags’The Air Marshal further added that the operation was aimed at hitting designated targets with precision, “not to count the body bags,” referring to the matter of the number of estimated casualties.“Whatever methods and whatever means we have chosen, it had the desired effects on the enemy targets. How many casualties? How many injuries? Our aim was not to inflict casualties, but in case there have been, it is for them to count. Our job is to hit the target, not to count the body bags,” the Marshal said.DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai said that armed forces killed more than 100 terrorists including high value targets. “Those strikes across those nine terror hubs left more than 100 terrorists killed, including high-value targets such as Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed, who were involved in the hijack of IC814 and the Pulwama blast,” the DGMO said.‘All our pilots are back home’The Marshal said the Indian Armed Forces successfully executed Operation Sindoor, achieving all selected objectives, with all Indian pilots returning safely.“All I can say is that we have achieved our objectives that we selected and all our pilots are back home,” he said.‘Downed a few planes’Air Marshal Bharti confirmed that the Indian Air Force had downed several Pakistani planes while preventing enemy aircraft from breaching Indian airspace.“Their planes were prevented from entering inside our border. Definitely, we have downed a few planes. Definitely, there are losses on their side which we have inflicted,” he said.‘No less than a war’DGMO Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai said that Pakistan’s actions were “no less than war”. He also said that the Pakistan Army may be involved in the infiltration across LoC.“The activities that have been going on for the last 3–4 days are no less than a war. Under normal circumstances, the air forces of each other’s countries do not fly in the air and attack each other. Under normal circumstances, infiltration across the Line of Control is done by terrorists. We have information that the Pakistani army may also be involved in infiltration across the Line of Control, which is trying to harm our posts,” the Lieutenant General said.CeasefireForeign secretary Vikram Misri on Saturday said that Pakistan’s military contacted India earlier in the day, and both sides agreed to stop all military action on land, at sea, and in the air starting from 5 pm.He added that orders were given to enforce the ceasefire, and another meeting between the two countries will take place on May 12 at noon.Ceasefire violationHours after the ceasefire was announced, Pakistan reportedly violated it again, with Indian air defence intercepting Pakistani drones during a blackout in Srinagar.India urged Pakistan to take proper action to stop the violations and handle the situation seriously and responsibly. Earlier, Pakistan was also warned that any future act of terrorism against India would be treated as an “act of war.”Pahalgam falloutThe Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7, targeting nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK).The strike came in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians.After India’s action, tensions between India and Pakistan increased sharply. This led to more cross-border shelling from Pakistan, with India responding in kind.Several areas near the border were placed on high alert, and blackouts were reported during Pakistani attacks.