Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Congress on Thursday targeted the government over the handling and aftermath of Operation Sindoor, claiming that despite India’s diplomatic outreach after the military action, Pakistan was not isolated globally as it had been after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.Taking to X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also launched a sharp critique of the government’s handling of the military operation and its diplomatic aftermath.“As we celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of Operation Sindoor and salute the achievements of our armed forces, it would be useful to recall the following: The first announcement of the cease fire that halted Operation Sindoor unexpectedly was made at 5:37 PM IST on May 10 2025 by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio who claimed that it was intervention by President Trump that had made this possible,” Ramesh said on X.“Subsequently, the US President has repeated this claim over a hundred times in different countries without ever having been refuted even once by his good friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added.Ramesh also referred to statements made by senior military officials after the operation. He said Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, speaking in Singapore on May 30, 2025, had stated that India suffered initial losses because of tactical errors but later carried out precision strikes deep inside Pakistan after reviewing and correcting those mistakes.He further recalled that on June 10, 2025, at a seminar in Jakarta, the Defence Attache at the Indian embassy in Indonesia acknowledged that India had lost aircraft on May 7, 2025 due to constraints imposed by the political leadership.Referring to another statement, Ramesh said Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt General Rahul Singh had, on July 4, 2025, highlighted China’s deep involvement in Pakistan’s response to Operation Sindoor through equipment, ammunition, satellite imagery and real-time targeting support.“Yet, the Modi Government’s calibrated capitulation to China continues unabated, including the loss of traditional patrolling rights in Ladakh, record Chinese imports, relaxation of FDI norms, etc.,” Ramesh alleged.“In spite of extensive diplomatic outreach by India, Pakistan did not get isolated as it had been following the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008. On the contrary, its army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has been embraced with extraordinary warmth by President Trump from June 2025 onwards and the world’s leading sponsor of cross-border terrorism, namely Pakistan, has come in for praise from the US military establishment,” he said.Ramesh also recalled that after the Kargil War ended in July 1999, the Vajpayee government had set up a four-member Kargil Review Committee headed by strategic affairs expert K. Subrahmanyam to examine the sequence of events and make recommendations.Operation Sindoor was launched by India on May 7, 2025 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed. India carried out airstrikes on nine terror infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.The strikes led to a sharp escalation in tensions, with Pakistan launching retaliatory attacks that were largely thwarted by the Indian military. The hostilities ended on May 10 after talks between military officials of the two countries over a hotline led to an understanding on halting military actions.
