Pakistan sent Sindoor SOS after seeing Indian forces’ movement; 8 terror camps still active along Pakistan-side of border: Army chief

NEW DELHI: Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday said the moves made by Army, Air Force and Navy on the morning of May 10 following the govt’s directive to prepare for a possible escalation of Operation Sindoor, acted as the decisive signal for Pakistan to seek suspension of the conflict. He also said that eight terrorist camps are currently active along the Pakistani side of the LoC and international border.

The three-day conflict was triggered after India on May 7 last year targeted terror camps deep inside Pakistan and POK in retaliation against the jihadi terror attack at J&K’s Pahalgam in April. “The first (turning point) was the 22-minute strike on terrorist targets,” he said. The strike on terrorist targets “derailed the opposite side’s decision-making, and they took time to take that all in,” Gen Dwivedi said. “Due to this, there was confusion among them, and that led to mismanaged responses, which were met with our calibrated response,” he said.




“The second turning point was that on the morning of May 10, the tri-forces of India were given certain directions about what to do if this war had escalated. They (Pakistan) had understood it, and hence, they called our DGMO,” General Dwivedi said in what marked the first formal confirmation of the govt’s decision to prepare for a full-scale conflict.

“They (Pakistan) had complete information about which (Indian) ship, which strike or pivot, which core unit, or which aircraft was moving where, all from satellites. When they connected these dots, they said that the time has come to stop this war,” Dwivedi said. The General’s observations also marked yet another repudiation of US President Donald Trump’s incessant claims about having brokered the pause in the India-Pakistan conflict in May last year.

He also spoke about the nuclear sabre-rattling by Pakistani politicians during the eventful four days (May 7-May 10). “As far as nuclear rhetoric is concerned, I would like to clarify that there was no discussion on the nuclear issue in the (India-Pakistan) DGMO talks. Whatever nuclear rhetoric was given by politicians or the public in Pakistan. I have no indication that anything of that sort came from the military,” he said.

Emphasising that Operation Sindoor was “the best example of the tri-services’s synergy under clear-cut political directive and full freedom to act or respond”, Gen Dwivedi said, “The Army successfully destroyed seven out of the nine targets, and thereafter, played a pivotal role in ensuring a calibrated response to Pakistan’s actions.” He further said 100 “people associated with Pakistan” were killed in the firing along the Line of Control (LoC) or International Border (IB) during Operation Sindoor.

On the current situation of terror hubs, the Army chief said, “There are six terror camps along the LoC and two along the IB. As per our knowledge, there is a presence of 100-150 terrorists there. If we spot any (mischievous) activities, we will definitely deal with it.”

On sightings of multiple suspected Pakistani drones along the LoC and IB on Jan 10 and 11, the General said that India has conveyed a clear warning to Pakistan, saying New Delhi has told Islamabad that such activity is “not acceptable”.

About violence in J&K, Dwivedi said 65% of the total terrorists eliminated in the UT last year were Pakistanis. He said 31 terrorists in total were eliminated by the armed forces in 2025 under Operation Mahadev, of whom three were the perpetrators of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. “Active local terrorists are now in single digits. Terrorist recruitment is almost non-existent, with only two in 2025,” he said. Mentioning “clear indicators of positive change in J&K”, the Army chief cited examples of robust development activity, the revival of tourism and the peaceful Amarnath Yatra, which saw over 4 lakh pilgrims, exceeding the five-year average.
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