Operation Sindoor fallout pushed Pakistan into constitutional, military reset: CDS

CDS, General Anil Chauhan, said Operation Sindoor compelled Pakistan to rush through constitutional amendments and restructure its higher defence organisation.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, on Friday said Operation Sindoor compelled Pakistan to rush through constitutional amendments and restructure its higher defence organisation, which was an implicit admission that the operation did not go in Islamabad’s favour.

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan (R) on Friday said Operation Sindoor compelled Pakistan to rush through constitutional amendments and restructure its higher defence organisation. He was speaking at the Pune Public Policy Festival 2026 organised at Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics. (HT)

Speaking at the Pune Public Policy Festival 2026 at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE), the general said Pakistan’s post-operation moves, including changes to its military command architecture, reflect serious deficiencies that came to light during the conflict. Pakistan has abolished the post of chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and replaced it with the chief of defence forces, while also setting up a National Strategy Command and an Army Rocket Forces Command. This, Gen Chauhan said, has resulted in the concentration of land, joint and strategic military powers in a single individual.

“This goes against the basic principle of jointness and reflects a land-centric mindset,” he said, warning that such centralisation could create internal challenges within Pakistan’s military system.

Responding to questions on whether Operation Sindoor has prompted changes in India’s own command structure, the CDS clarified that while he does not exercise direct command over the three service chiefs, the post carries operational responsibility. As the permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, he said, decisions are taken collectively, ensuring integrated planning and execution. He added that the CDS directly oversees emerging operational domains such as space, cyber, electromagnetic and cognitive warfare, along with special forces under the Integrated Defence Staff.

Gen Chauhan said military strategy worldwide is undergoing a profound shift, with technology increasingly replacing geography as the primary driver of warfare. “Traditionally, from Panipat to Palasi, geography defined military campaigns. Today, technology is driving strategy,” he said. While future conflicts are likely to rely more on non-contact and non-kinetic means, he cautioned that traditional land warfare remains brutal and manpower-intensive, particularly along disputed borders with Pakistan and China. “We must be prepared for both — smarter, technology-driven wars and the possibility of attritional contact warfare, while striving to avoid the latter,” he said.

He said several lessons, especially relating to higher defence organisations, were drawn from Operation Sindoor and earlier engagements such as the Uri surgical strikes, the Doklam and Galwan standoffs, and the Balakot air strike. These operations, he noted, were conducted through innovative, situation-specific command arrangements. “What we are now working towards is a standardised system that can be applied across all contingencies,” he said.

Expressing confidence in the progress made so far, Gen Chauhan said most of the groundwork for establishing the joint theatre commands has been completed and voiced optimism that the integrated command structure would be in place before the revised deadline.