Since guns have fallen silent in India and Pakistan following their ceasefire after four days of conflict, attention has now shifted to New Delhi’s next steps. The Indian government, as per media reports, is considering sending a multi-party delegation to several countries to engage with foreign governments, think tanks and media outlets. The goal is to present India’s position on terrorism and explain the rationale behind its launch of ‘Operation Sindoor’ against Pakistan.

Before finalizing the composition and schedule of the delegation’s visit, the Indian government will reportedly consult opposition parties – an effort widely seen as New Delhi’s broader strategy to increase pressure on Pakistan over its support for cross-border terrorism.

Bold military action
Operation Sindoor, which was swift, calibrated, and precise, helped India accomplish four broad objectives: Political, Economic, Military and Psychological. In this context, the description of India’s action as “a rare and unambiguous military victory” by John Spencer, who heads Urban Warfare Studies at the US-based Modern War Institute, appears apt.

He said in his post on X that “Operation Sindoor met and exceeded its strategic aims—destroying terrorist infrastructure, demonstrating military superiority, restoring deterrence, and unveiling a new national security doctrine. This was not a symbolic force. It was a decisive power, clearly applied.”

In fact, India’s action was so effective that it left Pakistan visibly stunned, forcing it to back down in the face of unexpected military strikes. Overtly, it was a calculated move by New Delhi to compel Islamabad to face the consequences of its continued support for cross-border terrorism. India has claimed that its operation led to the killing of more than 100 terrorists and around 40-45 Pakistan military personnel.

India has also claimed decimating Pakistan’s air defence capability, with its 11 military installations, including strategically crucial ones in Noor Khan, Skardu, Sialkot, Sargodha, Jacobabad, and Bholari witnessing incalculable damages; its air defence systems and radars spread in several areas were destroyed; logistic installations, command and control centres and other military infrastructure lying across the Line of Control suffered extensive damage—rendering complete breakdown of the country’s defensive and offensive capabilities. India maintains that its calibrated and precision strikes have broken Pakistan’s “morale”.

India hits key JeM and LeT hideouts
For the first time, by taking strong punitive measures, India killed more than 100 terrorists by targeting nine hideouts located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The targets of airstrikes included terrorist headquarters and training camps of outfits such as Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (Let) in Bahawalpur, Muridke and Kotli.
Top terrorist leaders like Mohammad Yusuf Azhar, Mudassar Khadian Khas, Hafiz Muhammed Jameel, Khalid alias Abu Akasha and Mohammad Hassan Khan were also killed during the operation. By eliminating them, India sent a clear message to Pakistan that, regardless of the consequences, New Delhi would be unsparing in its efforts to chase and kill terrorists even in their safe homes across the border.

Inflicting pain by keeping IWT in abeyance
Yet what perilously has harmed Islamabad and its strategy to keep India on toes is New Delhi’s decision to keep the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance. Rivers such as Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab – the three key waterways that flow from India to Pakistan, serve as a lifeline for millions of Pakistanis; they have long underpinned the country’s agrarian economy and water security.

Disrupting access to these critical waters strikes at the heart of Pakistan’s political and economic stability. In that context, it can be argued that India has introduced a new dimension of strategic pressure on Pakistan by keeping the IWT in abeyance. By suspending the IWT, India has sent a strong message to Pakistan that so long as it will continue to serve as a safe sanctuary for terrorists, it will have to face consequences. As prime minister Narendra Modi put it in his address to the nation, blood and water cannot flow together.

Rejection of Trump’s claim over ceasefire     
At both the official and the leadership levels, India has ignored US president Donald Trump’s assertion that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Instead, New Delhi maintains that it was Islamabad, compelled by India’s fierce attack, which saw Pakistan losing significant military infrastructure, approached India for a ceasefire, to which it agreed.

Moreover, India has rejected Trump’s warning that “millions could have died” had hostilities escalated. New Delhi has categorically maintained that its military response was confined strictly to conventional domain. Also, New Delhi has trashed the US president’s claim that trade leveraged its impact in brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. In response, India said no discussion was held on trade with the US during ‘Operation Sindoor.’

Then on Trump’s mediation offer on Kashmir, New Delhi gave him a sharp riposte, stating that “We have a longstanding national position that any issues pertaining to the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have to be addressed by India and Pakistan bilaterally.” It has firmly rejected the US’s attempt to hyphenate India with Pakistan in the context of the ceasefire deal between the two countries.

Alongside, India has rejected US secretary of state Marco Rubio’s contention that both India and Pakistan had agreed to initiate broader discussions at a neutral venue.

“No such discussion planned,” said ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.  With this, India has decisively scotched the misinformation that swirled around the ceasefire and the mediation narrative. In doing so, it has sent a categorical message to the international community that its political, diplomatic, strategic and defence capabilities are grounded in sovereign decision-making and national interest.

Conclusion
‘Operation Sindoor’ has broadly helped India expose the military-terrorist nexus in Pakistan. US-designated terrorist Hafiz Abdul Rauf was seen leading prayers at the funeral of three slain LeT Commanders in Muridke. They were killed during ‘Operation Sindoor.’

Shockingly, this ceremony took place in the presence of uniformed Pakistan Army personnel and members of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah of Hafiz Saeed – the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack in which more than 160 people were killed. Moreover, what was particularly disturbing was that coffins of all the slain terrorists were draped in Pakistan’s national flag – clearly showing that they were given state honours.

On the military front, the Indian operation has exposed the quality and effectiveness of China’s arms in Pakistan. For example, China supplied PL-15 beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, which are considered as the East Asian country’s most advanced aerial weapon, either malfunctioned in the mid-air or completely failed to hit their targets. Similarly, China manufactured HQ-9 air defence system, as per media reports, failed to intercept even a single Indian missile or aircraft during the New Delhi-led military campaign against Pakistan.

Overall, ‘Operation Sindoor’ has geopolitical significance as the international community for the first time witnessed India’s prowess to launch precision military strikes within the territory of Pakistan. More significantly, it has shattered Pakistan’s bluff that it is a nuclear-powered state and, therefore, India will never undertake any military action against it.

Despite all this, there is no guarantee that a bruised and humiliated Pakistan will not take recourse to cross-border terrorism. Perhaps, this is the reason why New Delhi has clearly told Pakistan that it has no mood to relent on the Indus Waters Treaty or to relax its diplomatic pressure against it so long as it continues to support terrorism against India.