Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari stated that the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Op Sindoor, involving the use of fewer than 50 weapons, prompted Pakistan to request a ceasefire. The remarks were made at the NDTV Defence Summit, with Pakistan’s ceasefire call coming by midday on May 10. The operation was a response to the Pahalgam terror attack, with India targeting terrorist infrastructure. The carefully calibrated strikes by the IAF were intended to compel Pakistan to agree to a ceasefire.
Air Marshal Tiwari detailed that, “From the list of options presented, we had a large number of target sets. And finally, we boiled down to nine.” He highlighted that “in less than 50 weapons, we were able to achieve conflict elimination.” He also mentioned that, “It is very easy to start a war, but not easy enough to end it. And that was an important consideration to keep in mind so that our forces were activated, they were deployed, and they were ready for any eventuality that would have come about.”
He emphasized that India was ready for any escalation and only targeted military objectives. The extent of damage caused to Pakistani infrastructure exceeded that of the 1971 war.