Hyderabad (Agency): In the second press briefing on ‘Operation Sindoor’ on Monday, Air Chief Marshal AK Bharti said India acted against terrorism but Pakistan supported so the country responded.
“We reiterate that our fight is against terrorism not Pakistan but Pakistan military chose to support, prompting us to respond. Our fight is against terrorism so on May 7 we targeted only terror camps,” Bharti said.
He also blamed Pakistan for the losses it incurred. “Our action was necessary. Whatever damages Pakistan incurred is due to them. Our air defence system stood as a wall and to penetrate it was almost impossible for enemy. We had an integrated multi-layered air defence system. Several drones and unmanned vehicles employed by Pakistan were destroyed by our indigenous system,” Bharti said.
“India will remain ready to undertake any future missions,” he added.
Bharti thanked the government for its support in the procurement of state-of-the art military weapons. The performance of the indigenous air defence system was excellence and the old ones stood the test of time, he said adding, “Our indigenous Akash system showed stellar performance,” he said.
Bharti shared many photographs and videos of destroyed Nur Khan airbase, missiles and drones, saying Indian air defence system suffered minimal losses.
Addressing the conference, DGMO Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said the nature of terror activities has changed over years and Pahalgam was the last nail in the coffin. Pahalgam attack and the 2024 Shiv Khori are examples of new terror tactics, he said. “We were aware that Pakistan will launch an attack and we had prepared accordingly with our multi-layer aerial defence system,” he said adding, there was total synergy in the three forces.
Vice Admiral AN Pramod said Navy is maintaining a close watch.
Meanwhile, the DGMOs of India and Pakistan are scheduled to hold talks this evening. The discussions are likely to be held on the agreement that was reached on May 10 on halting operations.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, EAM S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval, CDS and chiefs of three services.
The DGMO along with DGs of Air Forces and Navi had addressed a press conference last evening to inform about ‘Operation Sindoor’. The DGMO had said that 100 terrorists, including high value targets like Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed, were eliminated in the operation that was launched on May 7 in retaliation against Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, mostly terrorists.
Hours after agreement to halt action on both sides, India had accused Pakistan of violating the terms of understanding, saying Pak drones were sighted and intercepted in many parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat.