A year ago on this day, the Indian Air Force (IAF) spearheaded Operation Sindoor, one of India’s most extensive military offensives in decades, targeting terror infrastructure and military assets deep inside Pakistan after the killing of 26 tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

The operation, launched in the early hours of May 7 last year, saw precision strikes by India’s advanced cruise missiles, drones, and glide bombs, leaving behind destroyed airframes, damaged hangars, and shattered radar systems across multiple locations in Pakistan.

Marking the first anniversary of the operation, the IAF on Thursday shared a high-resolution video on X at 1.05 am, the exact time India launched its first strikes a year earlier.

The video featured Prime Minister Narendra Modi declaring, “India will identify, track, and punish every terrorist and their backers.”

The IAF accompanied the video with a stern message aimed at terror groups and their supporters: “Operation Sindoor. Justice served. Precise in action, eternal in memory, Operation Sindoor continues. India forgets nothing. India forgives nothing.”

Operation Sindoor was launched as a retaliatory campaign against Pakistan-backed terrorism after the Pahalgam attack triggered outrage across the country.

The mission targeted several major terror hubs, including the Jaish-e-Mohammed headquarters in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba’s base in Muridke.

Other targets included terrorist infrastructure in Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot, Sawai Nala and Syed Na Bilal in Muzaffarabad, along with locations in Gulpur, Abbas, Barnala and Sarjal.

Indian strikes reportedly caused massive destruction, with visuals of giant fireballs and explosions emerging from several locations inside Pakistan. India’s use of BrahMos cruise missiles and precision-guided weapons demonstrated its growing conventional military edge.

The impact of the operation became evident within days. By May 9 last year, Pakistan had approached India seeking a ceasefire after sustaining repeated strikes, although hostilities continued briefly afterwards.

Despite repeated nuclear warnings from Pakistan during the conflict, India pressed ahead with the operation, underlining what officials described as the country’s confidence in its conventional military superiority.

Security experts later described Operation Sindoor as a defining moment in India’s counter-terror and strategic doctrine, signalling a more aggressive approach against cross-border terrorism.