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The first strikes under Operation Sindoor took place between 1-1.30 am on May 7 on nine identified terrorist targets in Pakistan.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Sep 19, 2025 08:44 IST
Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Anil Chauhan, revealed that India deliberately chose to carry out Operation Sindoor at 1 am as the timing reflected both confidence in the forces’ ability to capture imagery in the dark and the intent to prevent civilian casualties.
He added that unlike the 2019 Balakot airstrike, where no satellite evidence was available, the May 7 midnight strike was timed to avoid the early morning hours of Azaan (Muslim call to prayer) and Namaz, when many civilian lives could have been at risk.
"Earlier, we did the Balakot operation, but we didn't have satellite images or photos. But what we did at 1 am now (Operation Sindoor) despite difficulty in collecting evidence in the darkness of night, was for twin reasons – first, we had confidence in our capabilities that we could take imagery, and second, we wanted to avoid civilian casualties," PTI news agency quoted Gen Chauhan as saying on Thursday during an interaction at the Raj Bhavan in New Delhi.
“The best (option) would have been the time of 5.30 am or 6 am... But that is the time of first Azaan or Namaz... Many civilian lives would have been lost. We wanted to avoid that completely," he stressed.
The first strikes under Operation Sindoor took place between 1-1.30 am on May 7 on nine identified terrorist targets in Pakistan. Under the targeted precision strikes, Indian forces destroyed multiple terror launchpads across the border and in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
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Published By:
Karishma Saurabh Kalita
Published On:
Sep 19, 2025
English (US) ·