Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
More than 100 Pakistani soldiers were killed in India’s targeted operations along the Line of Control (LoC) following the Pahalgam terror attack, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai said on Tuesday (October 14, 2025), describing the swift and calibrated response as a demonstration of India’s evolving doctrine that combines military precision with diplomatic and economic leverage.
Speaking at the United Nations Troop Contributing Countries (UNTCC) conclave at Manekshaw Centre in Delhi, Lt. Gen. Ghai said the Indian response to the terror strike was “targeted, controlled, and non-escalatory”.
Pakistan’s own admissions later revealed the extent of its losses, he said. “Their awards list released on August 14 shows a large number of posthumous gallantry medals. That tells us their casualties on the LoC were in excess of 100,” he noted.
“We hit nine targets across the breadth of Pakistan. This was a fusion of military precision and diplomatic agility, informational superiority and economic leverage,” he said, adding that India had placed the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 into abeyance immediately after the attack as part of a broader coercive strategy.
‘Ready for contingencies’
Addressing the Army chiefs of 30 countries, the DGMO revealed that India’s strikes were executed with the full awareness of potential Pakistani retaliation.
“It’s naive to think the Indian Army would go into this kind of action without preparing for contingencies. We had wargamed four to five steps ahead,” he said, explaining that Indian forces anticipated Pakistan’s cross-border firing and responded by hitting secondary targets on the LoC.
According to him, the intensity of India’s operations forced Pakistan to seek a cessation of hostilities in less than four days — a timeline that underscored the decisive nature of India’s punitive measures. “It took 88 hours for the enemy to come and ask for a halt. We achieved our political and military aims,” he said.
‘Terrorists eliminated’
Highlighting the role of the Indian Navy, Lt. Gen. Ghai said that naval forces were “well poised in the Arabian Sea” during the operations, ready to expand the conflict dimension if required.
“Had the enemy decided to take it any further, it could have been catastrophic for them — not only from the sea but from other dimensions,” he stated.
He also confirmed that the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack had been tracked down and eliminated within 96 days, describing their end as “clinical.”
“They were exhausted from running and appeared malnourished when found. Justice was served,” he said, adding that the Home Minister had already informed Parliament of their elimination.
Published – October 14, 2025 11:51 pm IST
