"We Were Fully Ready To Launch Ground Ops": Army Chief's Op Sindoor Reveal

Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday said that Operation Sindoor, which was launched last year to target terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), is on and warned Islamabad that any "future misadventure" will be "dealt with effectively".

Speaking to reporters during his first press conference of 2026, General Dwivedi also said the Indian Army had mobilised its troops during Operation Sindoor and was "fully prepared" for ground operations if Pakistan "made any mistake".

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to a deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, which was carried out by The Resistance Front, a proxy of Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

The security forces struck multiple terror camps in Pakistan and PoK, killing over 100 terrorists.

OPERATION SINDOOR#JusticeServed

Target 1 – Abbas Terrorist Camp at Kotli.
Distance – 13 Km from Line of Control (POJK).
Nerve Centre for training suicide bombers of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Key training infrastructure for over 50 terrorists.

DESTROYED AT 1.04 AM on 07 May 2025.… pic.twitter.com/OBF4gTNA8q

— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) May 7, 2025

Pakistan then launched a missile and drone attack, which was intercepted by India. In retaliation, India struck airfields in Pakistan.

A ceasefire was announced on May 10.

OPERATION SINDOOR

Indian Army Pulverizes Terrorist Launchpads

As a response to Pakistan's misadventures of attempted drone strikes on the night of 08 and 09 May 2025 in multiple cities of Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab, the #Indian Army conducted a coordinated fire assault on… pic.twitter.com/2i5xa3K7uk

— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) May 10, 2025

Operation Sindoor was the "best example of tri-service synergy under a clear-cut political directive and full freedom to act or respond," General Dwivedi said.

"Operation Sindoor was conceptualised and executed with precision. Through 22 minutes of initiation on May 7 and an orchestration that lasted 88 hours up to May 10, the operation reset strategic assumptions by striking deep, dismantling terror infrastructure, and puncturing the longstanding nuclear rhetoric," he told reporters.

#WATCH | Delhi: Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi says, "As you may be aware, Operation Sindoor remains ongoing, and a future misadventure will be resolutely responded to. I must acknowledge the proactive role of all stakeholders at the national level, including CAPFs,… pic.twitter.com/HooY8OfHyj

— ANI (@ANI) January 13, 2026

"This time, the action we took, especially the kind of firing that took place in Jammu and Kashmir, and the way we addressed it, and how we eliminated approximately 100 of their people - all that action was taken because we expanded the conventional space. In those 88 hours, you saw that the army's mobilisation to expand the conventional space was such that if Pakistan made any mistake, we were fully prepared to launch ground operations," he said.

#WATCH | Delhi: Responding to ANI's question regarding Operation Sindoor, Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi says, "As far as nuclear rhetoric is concerned, I would like to say that there was no discussion on nuclear in the DGMO talks and whatever nuclear rhetoric was… pic.twitter.com/TOjC3aPEwH

— ANI (@ANI) January 13, 2026

General Dwivedi said that since the ceasefire was announced, the situation along the western front and in Jammu and Kashmir "remains sensitive but firmly under control".

"In 2025, 31 terrorists were eliminated, of which 65% were of Pakistani origin, including the three perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack neutralised in Operation Mahadev," he said.

He said that the number of active local terrorists is now in single digits.

"Terrorist recruitment is almost non-existent, with only two in 2025. Clear indicators of positive change in J&K include robust development activity, revival of tourism, and the peaceful Sri Amarnath Yatra, which saw more than four lakh pilgrims, exceeding the five-year average. The theme of terrorism to tourism is gradually taking shape," he said.