New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi apparently consoled India’s Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi after cessation of firing in Operation Sindoor, telling him that the Navy will also get its chance to hit Pakistani targets.
Reports suggest that apart from INS Vikrant, as many as 30-35 warships of the Navy’s Western Fleet were deployed just outside Pakistan’s territorial waters. They had locked their targets and were awaiting a signal to destroy the Karachi Port, Ormara naval base, radars and oil fields, apart from Pakistan Navy platforms. However, the signal never arrived as Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) pleaded for a ceasefire to his Indian counterpart.
The Prime Minister was talking to the three services chiefs after India agreed to a conditional cessation of firing on May 10, when he congratulated Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi and Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh. When it came to Admiral Tripathi, PM Modi remarked: “Humne aapke mooh se niwala cheen liya, aapko mauka phir milega (We snatched the morsel from your mouth. You will also get an opportunity another day).”
The last two days have been brutal for Pakistan with both the Army and Air Force chiefs revealing details about the operation. While ACM Singh spoke on how six Pakistani aircrafts were destroyed in Indian missile strikes, Gen Dwivedi dwelt upon the fake narrative being peddled by Pakistan by promoting Asim Munir to the rank of Field Marshal, even after a failed military campaign.
Both of them confirmed that the government gave the armed forces a free hand to take on targets inside Pakistan.
Admiral Tripathi had said that the Navy that was on hot standby, was ready to destroy the Karachi port on the morning of May 10. Missiles, including Brahmos, were primed and ready to be fired, but the order to stand down arrived before the Navy could see any real action.
On May 30, defence minister Rajnath Singh had remarked that the Navy’s aggressive deployment in the Arabian Sea, its unmatched maritime domain awareness and supremacy confined the Pakistan Navy to its own shores. Many reports suggest that several Pakistan Navy ships had actually left the area and sought shelter at friendly ports.