India Overhauls Strategy After Early Setback in Pakistan Clash

(MENAFN) In his first conversation with global media following last month’s tense four-day military face-off with Pakistan, India’s Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan stated that the country had overhauled its operational approach after committing an early “mistake,” ultimately gaining the upper hand.

Speaking to media during the Shangri-La Dialogue, a major security summit in Singapore, General Chauhan emphasized that the real issue wasn't about losing jets, but rather the reasons behind those incidents. “What is important is not a jet being downed but why they were being downed. The good part is that we were able to understand the tactical mistakes that we’ve made, remediate, and rectify them, and implement them again — we flew all our jets, again targeting [sites in Pakistan] at long range,” he said, without disclosing specific details regarding aircraft losses.

Responding to Pakistani military assertions that it had brought down six Indian jets during the conflict, General Chauhan dismissed the claim as “absolutely incorrect.”

In a separate discussion with a news agency, he confirmed that India had revised its approach following initial losses incurred during airstrikes on May 7, which were aimed at what India described as “terrorist infrastructure” within Pakistani territory.

“What was important is, why did these losses occur, and what will we do after that?” he told the news agency. “So we rectified tactics and then went back on the 7th, 8th, and 10th in large numbers to hit air bases deep inside Pakistan, penetrated all their air defenses with impunity, and carried out precision strikes,” he further noted.

India has consistently denied Pakistan’s version of events while choosing not to publicly address its own casualties.

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