Over 100 Pak troops likely died during Operation Sindoor, says India DGMO

DGMO Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai said Pakistan's list of posthumous awards suggest their casualties along the Line of Control during Operation Sindoor exceeded 100 personnel

Indian Army's Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai on Tuesday said over 100 Pakistani military personnel may have died during Operation Sindoor, reported PTI.

 

"Pakistanis possibly unwittingly let out their awards list last month, on August 14, and the number of posthumous awards that they awarded suggests to us now that their casualties on the Line of Control (LoC) were also in excess of 100," he said.

 

Operation Sindoor was India's retaliatory strike against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack in April this year that claimed the lives of 26 people. As part of the operation, India, during the wee hours of May 7, struck nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK).

 

 

Following the attacks, Pakistan carried out cross-border firing and drone strikes against India, which Ghai described as a "dismal failure".

 

"We went after terrorists, and once that had been achieved, it wasn't our intention to escalate it unless compelled to do so. There was also cross-border firing by Pakistan immediately once the terror targets were engaged," he said.

 

"A variety and class of drones were utilised in an attempt to cause casualties and damage to (our) men and material. But everything was a dismal failure," Lt Gen. Ghai said.

 

These attacks, he said, were followed by the Indian Air Force's precision strikes on Pakistan installations on the intervening night of May 9 and 10. During the strikes, Pakistan suffered damage to eight air bases, three hangars, and four radars, he said, adding that they also lost one C-130 class of aircraft and one AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning & Control) system, and 4-5 fighter jets on the ground. 

Navy was ready to strike

Lt Gen. Ghai added that the Indian Navy was also fully ready to play its part had the conflict escalated.

 

"Had the enemy decided to take it any further, it could have been catastrophic for them and not only from the sea but from other dimensions," he said.

 

Lt Gen. Ghai also reiterated that Pakistan lost 12 aircraft during the conflict, a number that was also recently shared by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh.

 

He also highlighted the elimination of the three terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack, stating that the Army was determined to "chase them to the depths of hell". He added, "It took us 96 days but we did not let them rest".

 

"When these three were found and terminated clinically, it seemed as if they were exhausted from running, and they also seemed very malnourished... Often, people can turn around and ask us where they have vanished. But it is sometimes like searching for a needle in a haystack," Lt Gen Ghai said, adding that there has been a "doctrinal shift in our strategy against terror".