‘Clear Political Will, No Restriction…’: IAF Chief On Op Sindoor Success
Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, on Saturday, credited the “political will” of the Central government for the success of Operation Sindoor that allowed the Indian Armed Forces (IAF) to conduct the operations without any constraints.
Addressing an event at HAL Management Academy in Bengaluru, the Indian Air Force Chief emphasised that there were “no restrictions” on armed forces and any constraints that the armed forces exercised were self-made.
“A key reason for success was the presence of political will. There was very clear political will and very clear directions given to us. No restrictions were put on us… If there were any constraints, they were self-made. The forces decided what the rules of engagement would be. We decided how we wanted to control the escalation. We had full freedom to plan and execute,” Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said.
He further spoke about how the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) organised all three armed forces- the Army, Navy and Air Force-to coordinate with each other.
“There was a synchronisation between the three forces… The post of CDS made a real difference. He was there to get us together. NSA also played a big role in getting all the agencies,” he said.
Earlier, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi had questioned the Indian government’s “political will” during the discussion on Operation Sindoor in Parliament.
“You told the Pakistanis exactly what you would do. You told them we would not hit military targets, you told them we do not want escalation… It means you have directly told Pakistan that you do not have the political will to fight. This is said by the Defence Minister. It means the government of India informed the Pakistani government that we have no political will, we don’t want to fight. Surrender, immediate surrender in 30 minutes,” the Congress MP said.
Referring to the remarks of Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan and Captain Shiv Kumar, Defence Attache, Indonesia, Rahul Gandhi had also alleged that India lost its fighter jets because armed forces were “constrained by political leadership.”
The LoP stated, “Second thing he (Defence Minister) said – He told the Pakistanis that we are not going to hit any of your military infrastructure. This is an interesting fact. I said freedom of manoeuvre, meaning freedom to the air force. Captain Shiv Kumar, Defence Attache, Indonesia, says – I may not agree with him that India lost so many aircrafts, but I do agree we did lose some aircrafts, that happened only because of the constraints given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishments and their air defence.”
“It means – You went into Pakistan and told our pilots not to attack their air defence systems. It means you told your pilots to go and attack Pakistan and face their air defence system. It means you tied their hands behind their back. The point is, aircraft were lost. It means you started and said you do not have the political will and you won’t attack military establishments, and then asked the pilots to fight. Everybody knows the result; you do not want to give answers, but everybody knows the result…” Gandhi said.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and airfields across 11 airbases, including Nur Khan air base in Pakistan. (ANI)
