New Delhi: Speaking at an event, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan reportedly said Pakistan’s recent constitutional amendments reflected the failures it faced during Operation Sindoor. He also suggested that the neighbouring country rushed changes to address shortcomings exposed during the operation, reported India Today.
“The changes which have been brought about in Pakistan, including the constitutional amendment done hurriedly, are actually an acknowledgement of the fact that everything didn’t go well for them in this operation. They found a lot of shortcomings and deficiencies,” he said, as quoted by India Today.
According to reports, the amendment to Article 243 of Pakistan’s Constitution brought changes to the country’s higher defence organisation significantly. General Chauhan explained that the post of Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee had been abolished. These posts were intended to promote jointness among the three services.
In its place, Pakistan had created the post of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF). “This post can be created only by the Chief of Army Staff, which goes against the basic principle of jointness,” he said, as quoted by India Today.
Pakistan has also created a National Strategy Command and an Army Rocket Forces Command, in an apparent bid to concentrate power by creating the new structures.
“Today, the Army Chief will be responsible for land operations, joint operations with the Navy and Air Force through the CDF, as well as strategic and nuclear matters. The creation of the Rocket Forces Command adds another important layer. This, in some ways, reflects a land-centric mindset,” General Anil Chauhan said, while linking these developments to operational lessons learned during Operation Sindoor and previous engagements, including the Uri surgical strikes, the Doklam and Galwan standoffs, and the Balakot air strike.
He also reportedly claimed that India was working to standardise command structures across all contingencies.
Speaking about strategic forces, General Chauhan explained that such forces refer primarily to nuclear capabilities. He also highlighted that India’s focus remained on evolving a flexible yet standardised command system capable of responding to conventional and nuclear threats alike, the report states.
