India Paused Op Sindoor After Achieving Goals, Escalation Dominance

In response to the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack, India launched Operation Sindoor with precision strikes on terrorist infrastructure within Pakistan on May 7. Pakistan then targeted civilian and military sites in India over more than three days, drawing retaliatory strikes on 13 Pakistani military installations. On May 10 afternoon, Pakistan's director general of military operations called his Indian counterpart, after which both sides agreed to stop all military action from 5:00 pm IST. With Operation Sindoor only suspended, Lieutenant General Deependra Singh Hooda (retired), former general officer commanding-in-chief of the Indian Army's northern command, who held the position during the September 2016 surgical strike in retaliation to the Pakistan-backed Uri terrorist attack, speaks to Bhaswar Kumar in New Delhi on India's strategic messaging and the changing character of its conflict with Pakistan. Edited excerpts:

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How would you assess India's management of the escalation ladder during Operation Sindoor?

As two adversaries climb the escalation ladder, they strive to achieve escalation dominance in each stage. There were three broad phases of Operation Sindoor. The first phase was the Indian strike on the night of May 6-7, targeting nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. All these targets were successfully hit. The second phase began with Pakistan retaliating with drone and missile strikes. These were again successfully countered by India's air defence network and caused minimal damage. The third phase was the Indian precision strikes on Pakistan's Air Force infrastructure, including airfields, air-defence units, and control networks. This was a devastating blow and resulted in Pakistan appealing for a ceasefire. I would, therefore, assess that India managed to achieve escalation dominance at every stage of the operation.

Was Operation Sindoor — from striking terror camps to Pakistan's military sites — still below the nuclear threshold, or has it set a new bar?