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He referred to narrative building in the aftermath of the four-day conflict, noting Islamabad’s move to promote its Army Chief Asim Munir to Field Marshal rank despite setback
Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi (Image: PTI)
Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Saturday took a sharp swipe at Pakistan over its claim of victory during clashes with India after Operation Sindoor’s launch on May 7.
Dwivedi referred to narrative building in the aftermath of the four-day conflict, noting Islamabad’s move to promote its Army Chief Asim Munir to a five-star general and field marshal despite setbacks in the military conflict with India.
“If you ask a Pakistani whether you lost or won, he’d say, ‘My chief has become a field marshal. We must have won, that’s why he’s become a field marshal,'” Dwivedi said while speaking at an event held in IIT Madras.
#WATCH | During an address at IIT Madras, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi says, “…If you ask a Pakistani whether you lost or won, he’d say my chief has become a field marshal. We must have won only, that’s why he’s become a field marshal…” (09.08)(Source:… pic.twitter.com/G81nCSY9dh
– years (@ani) August 9, 2025
Dwivedi also praised the Centre for giving the armed forces a “free hand” to carry out Operation Sindoor.
“What happened on 22 April in Pahalgam shocked the nation. On the 23rd, the next day itself, we all sat down. This is the first time that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, ‘Enough is enough.’”
“All three chiefs were very clear that something had to be done. The free hand was given — ‘you decide what is to be done.’ That is the kind of confidence, political direction, and political clarity we saw for the first time,” Dwivedi said.
He added, “That is what raises your morale. That is how it helped our army commanders-in-chief to be on the ground and act as per their wisdom.”
Earlier, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh also credited the mission’s success to the “political will” of the central government, noting that the armed forces operated without any outside constraints.
“A key reason for success was the presence of political will. There was very clear political will and very clear directions given to us. No restrictions were put on us… If there were any constraints, they were self-made. The forces decided what the rules of engagement would be. We decided how we wanted to control the escalation. We had full freedom to plan and execute,” Singh said at an event in Bengaluru.
Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
Indian forces struck terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, killing more than 100 militants linked to groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.
In response to India’s strike on terror hubs, Pakistan responded with cross-border shelling, drone attack attempts, and air defence action.
In retaliation, India’s counterstrikes damaged Islamabad’s radar systems, communication nodes, and airfields across 11 key bases, including the Nur Khan air base.
Ronit Singh, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking News team. He has a keen focus on Indian politics and aims to cover unexplored angles. Ronit is an alumnus of Christ (Deemed to be…Read More
Ronit Singh, Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking News team. He has a keen focus on Indian politics and aims to cover unexplored angles. Ronit is an alumnus of Christ (Deemed to be… Read More
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