Pakistan folded up in 8 hours: CDS

CHIEF OF DEFENCE Staff General Anil Chauhan said Tuesday that Pakistan wanted to bring India "to its knees in 48 hours" with Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos on May 10, but the attacks "folded up in 8 hours" after which Pakistan "picked up the telephone and said they wanted to talk".

- SOHAM SHAH

He made these remarks while delivering a lecture on 'Future Wars and Warfare' at the Savitribai Phule Pune University.

Detailing the Pakistani response to Operation Sindoor, General Chauhan said Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos was "launched by Pakistan on 10th of May at about 1 am" and "its aim was to get India down to its knees in 48 hours. Multiple attacks were launched".

He said although India had actually hit only terror targets, the Pakistanis "escalated this conflict... into the military domain".

Stating that armed forces are the most rational actors in conflict situations, he explained why Pakistan called India. "I think that the rationale behind this... realisation coming in... stemmed from two facts. One is that they must have assumed that if they continued this mode, they are likely to lose much more. Hence, they picked up the telephone.