OPERATION SINDOOR - A CASE OF DOUBTFUL DETERRENCE

India's new anti-terror doctrine must be subject to parliamentary scrutiny

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The “new normal” in India’s fight against terrorism, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to establish after the horrific terror attack at Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, is neither based on complete information nor a rigorous security review of Operation Sindoor.

Unlike Pakistan, India is a constitutional democracy, where major policies related to national security which impact the lives of millions of citizens need to be debated and discussed in Parliament. The political consensus vis-à-vis combating terrorism within India cannot be misused to truncate democratic processes or muzzle discussions on the fitness and the efficacy of anti-terror policies.

Retaliation as deterrent?

In his recent address to the nation, Mr. Modi stated that the surgical strikes following the terror attacks at Uri (September 2016), the air strikes after the February 2019 attack at Pulwama, and the recent offensive under Operation Sindoor “define” India’s policy against terrorism. Had the Indian strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) in 2016 and 2019 been effective as deterrents, the Pahalgam attack should not have occurred in the first place.

Can the retaliatory cross border strikes and calibrated military escalation attempted under Operation Sindoor serve as an effective deterrent? It remains doubtful due to several reasons. First, investigations by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have not yet been able to capture the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack. This is crucial not only in order to secure justice for the innocent victims, but also to prevent them from attempting another attack.