'Quoted Out Of Context': India Issues Clarification Amid Row Over Defence Attache's Op Sindoor Remarks
India stressed that Operation Sindoor was "non-escalatory" in nature and that it was carried out to destroy the terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
The Indian embassy in Indonesia on Sunday said the presentation by defence attache at a seminar on Operation Sindoor has been "quoted out of context" in media reports.
The embassy's clarification comes after the comments made by defence attache Captain Shiv Kumar, while detailing the Indian military's response in the initial phase of Operation Sindoor at an Indonesian university, sparked a row.
The Indian Navy officer was speaking at a seminar on "Analysis of the Pakistan-India Air Battle and Indonesia's Anticipatory Strategies from the Perspective of Air Power" at a university in Jakarta.
After the seminar, Congress slammed the Centre, citing media reports, which said that defence attache's remarks suggested the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7 during Operation Sindoor as it was constrained by the mandate to not attack Pakistani military establishment.
Since the launch of Operation Sindoor, India has always maintained that its objective was to destroy the terror infrastructure located deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir. India has also stressed that the operation was "non-escalatory" in nature and that it was carried out in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.
In the clarification issued today, the Indian Embassy reiterated the same and noted that the Indian Armed Forces operate under the civilian political leadership, unlike "some other neighbourhood countries".
"We have seen media reports regarding a presentation made by the Defence Attache at a Seminar. His remarks have been quoted out of context and the media reports are a mis-representation of the intention and thrust of the presentation made by the speaker," the Indian Embassy in Indonesia said in a post on X.
"The presentation conveyed that the Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood. It was also explained that the objective of Operation Sindoor was to target terrorist infrastructure and the Indian response was non-escalatory," it added.
Congress Accuses Govt Of 'Misleading' Country
Following the defence attache's remarks in Indonesia, the Congress had slammed the PM Modi-led government for "misleading" the country. The opposition party also asked the reason behind PM Modi's "refusal" to chair an all-party meeting over Operation Sindoor.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X, quoting Captain Shiv Kumar saying that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7 while targeting terror-linked sites in Pakistan.
"First the Chief of Defence Staff makes important revelations in Singapore. Then a senior defence official follows up from Indonesia," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in his post on X.
Jairam Ramesh also asked why the demand for a special session of Parliament was dismissed.
"But why is the PM refusing to preside over an all-party meeting and take the Opposition into confidence? Why has the demand for a special session of Parliament been rejected?"
Citing the same media report, Pawan Khera, Congress' media and publicity department head said the Centre "misled the nation from the start - failing to disclose the aircraft losses during Operation Sindoor".
"In another shocking revelation by Capt. Shiv Kumar, it has emerged that the Indian Air Force lost fighter jets to Pakistan on the night of May 7, 2025 during its targeting of Pakistan's terror-linked sites 'only because of the constraint given by the political leadership'," the Congress leader said.
"This is a direct indictment of the Modi Government, particularly Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. No wonder they are ducking our demand for a Special Session of Parliament like the plague," he alleged.
Defence Attache's Remarks On Op Sindoor
In his presentation, Captain Kumar said the Indian Air Force could not attack Pakistani military installations in the initial phase due to "constraints" owing to the mandate decided by the "political leadership".
"We did lose some aircraft and that happened only because of the constraint given by the political leadership to not attack the military establishment or their air defence system," he said.
"But after the loss, we changed our tactics and we went for the military installations. So we first achieved suppression and destruction of enemy air defence and then that is why all our attacks could easily go through using surface-to-air missiles and Brahmos surface-to-surface missiles," he added.
The Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan had also made similar remarks in Singapore a month ago. He said India rectified its tactics after suffering losses of aircraft and thereafter hit deep inside Pakistani territory.
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