Srinagar, May 19: Chief of the Army Staff Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday said that Operation Sindoor demonstrated India’s calibrated use of “smart power”, combining military precision, strategic messaging, diplomatic signalling and economic restraint in a coordinated national response.
Addressing a seminar on “Security to Prosperity: Smart Power for Sustained National Growth” organised by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies in Srinagar, the Army Chief said the operation reflected the integration of military capability with wider national objectives.
He said the operation, carried out during a “22-minute operational window”, targeted terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), and marked a precise and coordinated military response.
“Operation Sindoor delivered military precision, information control, diplomatic signalling and economic resolve as one coherent national act,” Dwivedi said.
The Army Chief said the action dismantled terror infrastructure and challenged what he described as a “long-standing strategic assumption”. He added that the decision to halt operations after 88 hours reflected what he termed calibrated restraint.
“The deliberate halt after 88 hours was smart power in its most complete expression, knowing exactly which lever to apply and at what intensity,” he said.
Dwivedi said the operation followed the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians were killed, adding that Indian armed forces struck multiple terror-linked locations, including Bahawalpur, Muridke and Sialkot, as well as camps in PoK.
The Army Chief also said the global security environment is witnessing “disorder, distrust and dichotomy in alliances”, adding that modern conflicts now extend beyond the battlefield into economic systems, supply chains and technological ecosystems.
He said global defence spending has crossed USD 2.7 trillion and noted that security and prosperity are increasingly interlinked.
“The boundary between security and prosperity no longer exists,” he said, adding that security must now be viewed as a prerequisite for national development.
The seminar brought together defence officials, diplomats, academics and industry representatives to discuss the role of integrated national power in ensuring long-term strategic stability.
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