Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark came after the Navy was asked to hold back from a reportedly planned strike on Karachi port during Operation Sindoor.
While reviewing the Operation Sindoor with the Indian defence forces’ chiefs amid soaring tensions with Pakistan on May 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the efforts of Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi and Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh for their roles in the operation.
He then turned to Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi and said, “Humne aapke mooh se niwala cheen liya, aapko mauka phir milega (I have snatched the morsel out of your mouth, but your turn will come)”, reported Hindustan Times.
The Prime Minister’s remark came after the Navy was asked to hold back from a reportedly planned strike on Karachi port during Operation Sindoor. As per the report, PM Modi remained unfazed by the possibility of a retaliatory Pakistani missile strike on Gujarat, and granted the three service chiefs complete operational autonomy.
Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, a staunch advocate for the Navy’s offensive capabilities, was ready to launch BrahMos missiles at Karachi port on May 10 until he was ordered to hold back, the news outlet reported.
Operation Sindoor
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7– bombing terrorist camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in pre-dawn strikes that killed at least 100 militants– in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent people.
The operation sparked four days of cross-border fighting involving fighter jets, missiles and artillery.
Heavy Destruction In Pakistan
Between 8 and 10 May, IAF fighter jets struck 11 military air bases across Pakistan in a coordinated, precision-led campaign. The IAF also destroyed several key Pakistani assets, including fighter aircraft, radar systems, and an airborne early warning platform. Intelligence reports confirm that a hangar at Chaklala airbase in Rawalpindi housing C-130 Hercules aircraft was heavily damaged and two F-16 jets were destroyed in Jacobabad.
The objective was to cripple the Pakistan Air Force’s capability to launch aerial attacks using drones and fighter jets.
While addressing an event on Saturday, the IAF Chief had said that India’s air defence surface-to-air missile systems destroyed five Pakistani fighter jets and an AEW&C/ELINT aircraft, which is a specialised military plane designed for airborne surveillance, early warning. He also said that some parked F-16 jets were destroyed in Jacobabad and an AEW&C in Bholari.
India’s Defence System
During Operation Sindoor, India’s Akash missile defence system and security shields like the S-400 fortified the nation’s defences. Pakistan launched a wave of drone attacks using UAVs acquired from Turkey. While Pakistan rained drones, India’s defence system proved strong, intercepting and destroying about 99 percent of them in time.
On the intervening night of May 7 and 8, Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in northern and western India, including Awantipora, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankote, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, using drones and missiles. These were neutralised by the Integrated Counter UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Grid and Air Defence systems.
