Operation Sindoor: India says Karachi was a target, ends speculations on Navy's role

Ending the speculations about the Navy's role in the attack amid tensions with Pakistan, India on Sunday confirmed that the Indian Navy was prepared and Karachi was a target.

 

While addressing the media on Operation Sindoor, Vice Admiral A.N. Pramod, Director General of Naval Operations, said that the Indian Navy deployed with the capacity to strike at sea and land, including Karachi, at a time and place of their choosing. "This forced the Pakistan Navy to remain mostly in harbour or near port." 

 

Earlier, there were reports that explosions were heard in Pakistan's major cities including Lahore and Karachi and the Navy had struck the Karachi port. 

 

It was in 1971 that the Indian Navy last attacked Islamabad. Two naval strikes, one on Karachi port and the other on naval headquarters, was launched by the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971. 

 

Detailing the Navy's role, Vice Admiral Pramod said that the Navy's carrier battle groups, surface forces, submarines and aviation assets were deployed at sea with full combat readiness after the Pahalgam terror attack. 

 

Within 96 hours of the terror attack, refined tactics and procedures were tested at sea during multiple weapon firings in the Arabian Sea. "The aim was to revalidate our crew, armaments, equipment and platform readiness to deliver on selected targets precisely," he said. 

 

He also added that "our response has been measured, proportionate, non-escalatory and responsible from the Day 1...The calibrated approach considered all options, including the ability of the Indian Navy for offensive action from and at sea." 

 

Commenting on Pakistan's ceasefire proposal by ringing the DGMO, Pramod said, "Along with the kinetic action by the Indian Army and Indian Air Force, the overwhelming operations edge of Indian Navy at sea contributed towards Pakistan's urgent request for a ceasefire yesterday," he said. 

 

Navy remains alert and ready to respond decisively to any inimical action by Pakistan or Pakistan-based terrorists, he added. 

Defence