The Border Security Force (BSF) on Saturday (Nov 29) revealed striking details of the cross-border escalation that followed India’s launch of Operation Sindoor earlier this year. According to IG BSF Jammu Frontier Shashank Anand, Pakistan responded to India’s targeted anti-terror offensive by treating it as a full-fledged “act of war,” triggering heavy retaliation along the International Border.
Addressing reporters on the overall security scenario in Jammu, Anand said Operation Sindoor, launched after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, was a precisely calibrated action aimed solely at neutralising terror hideouts across the border. “Our operation was directed only at the terror infrastructure. However, Pakistan chose to treat it as an act of war,” the senior BSF officer said in an interview with News 18.
With Pakistan escalating hostilities and launching aggressive counterfire, the BSF responded forcefully. Anand said the border force mounted an “effective and proportional reply,” resulting in the destruction of 118 Pakistani posts in the Jammu region.
“Following Pakistan’s aggressive posturing… the BSF gave a strong and effective reply,” he added.
Despite the heavy exchange of fire, the BSF maintained strict vigilance to ensure the safety of civilians living in forward areas. Multiple infiltration attempts were thwarted amid the heightened tension.
Operation Sindoor, launched in the early hours of May 7, marked one of India’s most assertive cross-border responses in recent years. For four days, until the ceasefire that took effect on May 10, the Indian military deployed fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and heavy artillery to hit terror networks operating across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The offensive came just weeks after the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, where heavily armed terrorists targeted a civilian convoy, sparking widespread outrage and demands for decisive action.
Earlier, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi had described Operation Sindoor as a “trusted orchestra,” emphasising the seamless coordination among India’s military units. Speaking at an event in Delhi, he highlighted how inter-agency trust, preparedness, and real-time communication ensured the swift destruction of nine terrorist targets within 22 minutes.
“Every musician played a simultaneous or synergistic role,” General Dwivedi said. “That is how, in 22 minutes, we neutralised nine targets, and in 88 hours brought the confrontation to an end.”
He stressed that the success of the operation lay not only in the execution but in months of visualisation, planning, and collaboration across the armed forces and intelligence agencies.
IG Anand’s remarks underline the seriousness of Pakistan’s military reaction after India targeted terror infrastructure. By diagnosing the operation as “war-like,” Islamabad escalated artillery fire and border hostilities. However, India’s calibrated response, while remaining limited to terror-linked installations sent a clear message on the cost of cross-border terrorism.
For the BSF, the episode reinforced the need for sustained vigilance across the Jammu Frontier, which remains one of the most sensitive and infiltration-prone stretches of the India-Pakistan border.
As border tensions continue to evolve, the revelations made by the BSF provide a clearer picture of the intensity of Operation Sindoor and Pakistan’s unprecedented reaction. The destruction of 118 enemy posts, coupled with the swift neutralisation of terrorist targets, signals a turning point in India’s counter-terror and border security strategy.
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