Operation Sindoor: 6 Pak Jets Downed, Bahawalpur & Muridke Pegged On Apr 23, Say Sources | Exclusive

Last Updated:June 07, 2025, 07:00 IST

Top defence sources also said it was false that India came under pressure from the US or Donald Trump to enter a ceasefire with Pakistan on May 10

PM Narendra Modi holds meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, NSA Ajit Doval, CDS General Anil Chauhan, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi and IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, in New Delhi. (File image: PMO/PTI)

India downed at least six Pakistani jets as well as a military transport aircraft during Operation Sindoor, top defence sources have told CNN-News18. The terrorist headquarters of Bahawalpur and Muridke in Pakistan were chosen as the prime targets by the Narendra Modi government on April 23, a day after the Pahalgam terrorist strike, they added.

Top defence sources also said it was false that India came under pressure from the US or Donald Trump to enter a ceasefire with Pakistan on May 10. “The fact is that Trump and PM Modi never spoke. Even when JD Vance called, the PM was very firm and did not yield," these sources said.

The Congress and Rahul Gandhi have been targeting the Prime Minister, asking why he had allegedly “surrendered to US pressure". The sources said, “Rahul Gandhi is being immature in targeting PM Modi on this count, and it will backfire on the Congress when Parliament begins."

The Planning

The sources said Muridke and Bahawalpur were proposed as the prime targets for India’s strike at the long meeting that defence minister Rajnath Singh chaired with the three service chiefs, the chief of defence staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, and national security adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval on the morning of April 23, a day after the Pahalgam strike. The service chiefs had said at this meeting that they were fully prepared for the counterstrike. These options were laid out at the cabinet committee of security (CCS) meeting chaired by PM Modi on the evening of April 23. The PM had cut short his Saudi Arabia trip to return to India that day.

Multiple dates were considered for the strike, and the time was decided to be between 12.30 am and 2 am. It was ensured that cameras must be able to capture the destruction caused at the targets even at night in the dark, top defence sources said. It was a conscious decision not to cross the international border or the Line of Control (LoC) for the strike, as India now had the capability to hit anywhere in Pakistan without crossing the border, the sources said. This ensured the safety of Indian pilots, learning from the Abhinandan Varthaman case during the Balakot strike in 2019.

The Losses

India ultimately struck multiple terrorist headquarters in Pakistan and PoK on the morning of May 7 between 1.05 and 1.30 am within 22 minutes. The CDS has recently admitted that India did suffer some combat losses in terms of jets in the initial stage of this operation due to “tactical mistakes" but rubbished Pakistan’s count of six Indian jets downed. Top defence sources said the government is inquiring into the reasons for these “tactical mistakes" that led to a few Indian planes being downed. “But all Indian pilots returned safe," the sources said.

India, however, has confirmed inputs that over six Pakistani jets were downed in Indian strikes in the early hours of May 7 and May 10, alongside a C-130J military transport aircraft of the Pakistani army. Top defence sources said these include F-16 and JF-17 fighter jets of the Pakistani air force and a Pakistani SAAB-2000 AWACS. The Indian Navy did not enter the actual combat but was ready to go, the sources added. They said Pakistan feared that the Indian Navy could attack the Karachi Port, and this may have led it to wave the white flag.

The emergency powers for procurement granted to the three service chiefs by the defence minister after the Galwan clash on the LAC in 2020 had played a significant role in the strong preparation of the forces for a war-like situation during Operation Sindoor, the sources said.

Sources also pointed out that the multi-party delegations had been a good success, and opposition members included in the teams were decided by top ministers who spoke to their party heads. Salman Khurshid, Shashi Tharoor, Asaduddin Owaisi, and Kanimozhi were deliberate choices that sent a strong message abroad as well as domestically, the sources said.

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