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One year of Operation Sindoor: Every time India countered Pak's claims, Trump's ceasefire ‘role’
During Operation Sindoor, India not only had to deal with incoming drones, but also the fake narrative spewed by Pakistan on India’s losses during the conflict.
May 7, 2025: It had been a fortnight since the brutal killing of civilians by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, and anger was simmering across India. While there were murmurs on how India would respond, no one could say anything about the nature of the response or its time. Amid despair and rage for the loss of civilians’ lives in the valley, a message from the Indian Army flashed shortly after midnight, as it announced ‘Operation Sindoor’, the military action against terrorists and terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
What began as tackling and dismantling terror soon moved to strikes on Pakistan's military installation, in retaliation to the neighbour first launching drones targeting Indian military installations.
The next three days were nail-biting for India as it not only had to deal with incoming drones, but also the fake narrative spewed by Pakistan on India’s losses during the conflict. The US also drew focus soon, with President Donald Trump’s ceasefire announcement for India and Pakistan on May 10. However, India maintained its diplomatic stance throughout and to this day, denies any third party intervention.
Big damage for Pakistan in Op Sindoor
On April 22, 2025, tourists in the Baisaran Valley in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam were caught off guard as terrorists stormed in from the forests and started shooting at them, killing 26 civilians. Fifteen days later on May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor to avenge the attack, killing at least 100 terrorists in the process.
However, the operation didn’t remain limited to terror ops after drones were launched by Pakistan, targeting Army installations in Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur. Blackouts were reported in parts of Punjab, including Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, and Amritsar.
The Indian forces managed to tackle all attacks but in a befitting reply also dealt a huge blow to the Army infrastructure in Pakistan, including the country’s frontline facilities like Murid and Nur Khan airbases. According to Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, Pakistan also lost around 13 jets, including fighter jets such as US-made F-16s and Chinese-origin JF-17s, to India's precision strikes.
Pakistan’s self-goals in peddling fake news
From the beginning of Operation Sindoor, several false narratives surfaced online claiming big gains by Pakistan. Be it fake videos of Pakistan's "successful" attack on Indian Army bases or the the many claims that Pakistan's leadership made after the ceasefire, India debunked them all.
In some cases, it was a self-goal for Pakistan.
During an attempt to float an anti-India rhetoric back in December, Pakistan foreign minister Ishaq Dar ended up admitting how Operation Sindoor crippled the country's military installation. He confirmed India's strikes on the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi's Chaklala and how much it damaged the military installation there. "In 36 hours, at least 80 drones were sent. We were able to intercept 79 drones out of 80, and only one drone damaged a military installation and personnel were also injured in the attack," Dar had said in a press briefing.
How India, PM Modi shredded Pakistan
Pakistan on several occasions tried to claim a victory during Operation Sindoor, an assertion India vehemently denied at every chance, including at the United Nations. India strongly countered Shehbaz Sharif’s twisted account of the May conflict during his UN address and slammed Pakistan for glorifying terrorism. "If destroyed runways and burnt-out hangars look like victory, as the prime minister claimed, Pakistan is welcome to enjoy it," First secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, Petal Gahlot, said in September 2025.
Her remarks came after Sharif falsely claimed "unprovoked aggression" by India and said that civilians in Pakistan were also targeted. However, India has long asserted that its moves only aimed to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and never attacked civilians.
India has long noted Pakistan's role in harbouring terrorism, an assertion also backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has always clarified that India doesn't see terrorists and the government backing them as two separate entities.
Months after the cessation of hostilities between the two sides, PM Modi had taken a dig at Pakistan, claiming the border nation had to plead with India to stop the action. "Pakistan made a call...made a request in front of DGMO, 'Bas karo... bahut maara (Stop it...you have hit enough), now we don't have the strength to take more beating, please stop the attack'," he said during a Lok Sabha address.
Trump’s ceasefire claim denied by India
Claims by Pakistan weren’t the only ones India dealt with after Operation Sindoor. The US also chimed in, with President Donald Trump saying he played a role in mediating a ceasefire between the two sides, a claim he has made countless times.
While Pakistan backs Trump on this assertion, India has denied any third party mediation and continues to do so. "The record of what happened at that time was very clear and the ceasefire was something which was negotiated between the DGMOs of the two countries..." external affairs minister S Jaishankar said last year.
Trump even linked the truce to trade concessions, another claim India denied saying that the issue never came up in any discussion with the US during the military escalation of May.
