CHANDIGARH, Nov 29: During Operation Sindoor, the Indian armed forces were prepared for a prolonged confrontation, and the Army had even readied a reserve list of ex-servicemen to be mobilised if needed. However, the situation de-escalated far sooner than expected, with Pakistan “kneeling in just 19 hours”, South Western Command’s Lieutenant General Manjinder Singh said on Saturday.
Addressing a veterans’ rally at the Hisar Cantonment Military Station, Lt Gen Singh recalled that during the operation, India faced a tense moment following the Pahalgam terror attack, on April 22 in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were brutally killed by Pakistan-linked terrorists, following which India launched the successful cross-border Operation Sindoor attacks on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The May 7 cross-border attacks led to a four-day military stand-off with Pakistan, which ended with a ceasefire, initiated by Islamabad, on May 10.
In other remarks, he noted that modern warfare now includes both contact and non-contact domains, with cyberattacks posing growing threats to national infrastructure such as airports and railways. He stressed that future conflicts would require coordinated efforts between civil and military systems.
The rally saw participation from veterans of Hisar, Jind, Fatehabad, Sirsa, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Jhajjar, Mahendragarh and Rewari. Haryana Cabinet Minister Rao Narbir Singh and retired Lt Gen JDS Yadav also attended. Families of martyrs and retired soldiers were honoured during the event.
Lt Gen Singh also announced that the Army is establishing 20 dedicated hospitals nationwide, where both serving and retired personnel will receive treatment. Under the “SPARSH” initiative, efforts are underway to extend medical support to veterans above 70 at their doorstep through block-level volunteers.
(UNI)
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