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New Delhi:

Operation Sindoor was a non-contact, multi-domain mission which included aspects like distributed force application, cyber and disinformation campaign, intelligence capabilities and network-centric operations, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, General Chauhan said the direct and indirect forms of warfare deployed during Operation Sindoor, which began with the May 7 strikes on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, exemplify the future of war.

“While Pakistan may have leveraged Chinese commercial satellite imagery, there’s no proof of real-time targeting support. India, by contrast, relied on indigenous systems like Akash, achieving success through effective system networking, integrating both domestic and foreign radars into a cohesive defence structure,” he explained, highlighting the impact of modernisation on India’s defence along the borders.

Real-time integration across air, land and sea will only be as effective as the networks they are connected to, he said, while highlighting the need to address if cutting-edge technology should reside in the weapon, platform or network.

Conflict is moving towards flexible, deceptive strategies, with 15 per cent of time during Operation Sindoor spent on countering fake narratives, General Chauhan said. Such narratives during the mission point to the need for a dedicated information warfare vertical, as demonstrated by India in its “fact-based communication, even at the cost of slower responses”, he said. During the operation launched in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, India’s air-gapped military systems remained secure, while public platforms faced minor disruptions, he added.

General Chauhan highlighted the downside of automation and robotics in conflict and the future of Artificial Intelligence in future warfare. “When fewer lives are at risk, decision-makers may act more aggressively,” he said. He also explained that military AI’s utility currently remains limited owing to its reliance on open source data. “It must be integrated into operations, wargaming, and intelligence gathering to become truly impactful,” he added.

The CDS said that the sea becomes India’s strategic outlet as geography and geopolitics constrain India’s movement north and east, owing to the cross-border conflict with China and internal turmoil within Myanmar.

He said nuclear escalation in undeclared wars is illogical, adding that no war is without cost.

New Delhi:

Colombia is scheduled to issue a statement in strong support of India’s position on terror, in a pivot from the South American country’s condolences for the deaths in Pakistan after India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7.

Leading an all-party delegation visit to Colombia, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, “They have withdrawn their statement that disappointed us earlier and will issue a statement of strong support for our position.” This comes a day after he raised concern over Colombia’s stance and said New Delhi was disappointed by it.

Former Indian Ambassador to the United States and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Taranjit Singh Sandhu said that the delegation’s detailed explanation helped reverse the Colombian stance. “This morning we had a detailed interaction with the acting Foreign Minister and our leader and the entire team made specific points to them explaining to them the timeline which perhaps to an extent they might have missed out. The importance of Colombia, apart from other reasons, is also that it will be a member of the Security Council soon,” Mr Sandhu told ANI.

Colombia’s Vice Foreign Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio said, “We are very confident that with the explanation that we received today and the detailed information that we now have regarding the real situation, the conflict, and what happened in Kashmir, we can also continue the dialogue.”

Responding to Colombia’s statement on Friday, Mr Tharoor had emphasised that there can no equivalence between those who dispatch terrorists and those who defend themselves.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP reiterated that New Delhi has concrete proof that Pakistan-sponsored terror was behind the April 22 Pahalgam attack in which 26 civilians were massacred. “We are only exercising our right of self-defence. Just as Colombia has endured many terror attacks, so have we in India. We have endured a very large number of attacks for almost four decades, ” he said.

The delegation led by Mr Tharoor arrived in Colombia on Thursday after visiting Panama and Guyana. During the course of their stay in Bogota, the delegation will be interacting with the Members of Congress, Ministers and other key interlocutors in think tanks and media. The delegation includes Sarfraz Ahmad (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G M Harish Balayogi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), Tejasvi Surya (BJP), and former ambassador of India to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

The group is one of the seven multi-party delegations India has tasked to visit 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community after the Pahalgam terror attack.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives. India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7, following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.

The on-ground hostilities ended with an understanding of stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.

Jammu:

Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Upendra Dwivedi, on Friday awarded Border Security Force (BSF) Assistant Commandant Neha Bhandari with the Commendation Disc for her exceptional courage and operational proficiency during Operation Sindoor in the Jammu frontier.

Commanding a border outpost within eyeball-to-eyeball contact of a Pakistani post along the International Border, the assistant commandant led her troops to silence three forward hostile posts across the zero line (the area closest to enemy territory) by giving a befitting reply.

“On 30 May 2025, COAS General Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM, felicitated Assistant Commandant Neha Bhandari of BSF Jammu with the Commendation Disc for her exceptional courage and operational proficiency during Operation Sindoor,” BSF Jammu said on X.

She gallantly commanded a forward-deployed BSF company under challenging conditions, it said.

Apart from Neha, six women constables held gun positions at a forward border post, with their “josh” rising with every bullet they fired at the enemy positions across the IB in the Samba, R S Pura and Akhnoor sectors.

Neha, a third-generation officer from her family in Uttarakhand, takes pride in being a part of the BSF and commanding a border outpost in the Pargwal forward area of Akhnoor sector in Jammu district during Operation Sindoor.

“I feel proud to be manning a post along the International Border with my troops. It is approximately 150 meters away from the Pakistani post in the Akhnoor–Pargwal area,” she told PTI here on Wednesday.

Neha’s grandfather served in the Indian Army and her parents are from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), making her a third-generation officer in the family.

“My grandfather served in the Army. My father was in the CRPF. My mother is in the CRPF. I am a third-generation officer in the force,” she said.

New Delhi:

Operation Sindoor was a non-contact, multi-domain mission which included aspects like distributed force application, cyber and disinformation campaign, intelligence capabilities and network-centric operations, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, General Chauhan said the direct and indirect forms of warfare deployed during Operation Sindoor, which began with the May 7 strikes on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, exemplify the future of war.

“While Pakistan may have leveraged Chinese commercial satellite imagery, there’s no proof of real-time targeting support. India, by contrast, relied on indigenous systems like Akash, achieving success through effective system networking, integrating both domestic and foreign radars into a cohesive defence structure,” he explained, highlighting the impact of modernisation on India’s defence along the borders.

Real-time integration across air, land and sea will only be as effective as the networks they are connected to, he said, while highlighting the need to address if cutting-edge technology should reside in the weapon, platform or network.

Conflict is moving towards flexible, deceptive strategies, with 15 per cent of time during Operation Sindoor spent on countering fake narratives, General Chauhan said. Such narratives during the mission point to the need for a dedicated information warfare vertical, as demonstrated by India in its “fact-based communication, even at the cost of slower responses”, he said. During the operation launched in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, India’s air-gapped military systems remained secure, while public platforms faced minor disruptions, he added.

General Chauhan highlighted the downside of automation and robotics in conflict and the future of Artificial Intelligence in future warfare. “When fewer lives are at risk, decision-makers may act more aggressively,” he said. He also explained that military AI’s utility currently remains limited owing to its reliance on open source data. “It must be integrated into operations, wargaming, and intelligence gathering to become truly impactful,” he added.

The CDS said that the sea becomes India’s strategic outlet as geography and geopolitics constrain India’s movement north and east, owing to the cross-border conflict with China and internal turmoil within Myanmar.

He said nuclear escalation in undeclared wars is illogical, adding that no war is without cost.

New Delhi:

Since the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s retaliatory strikes under Operation Sindoor, Indian counterintelligence agencies have been on high alert. Over the past month, at least 15 individuals across Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Punjab have been detained or arrested. 

An engineer in Mumbai sketching warship blueprints after being honey-trapped on Facebook, a travel vlogger in Haryana escorted by armed men through Lahore’s markets, a Rajasthan government employee with seven unexplained trips to Pakistan, and a SIM card supplier in Deeg funnelling information to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) handlers – each arrest, unconnected yet similar, reveals a wide network of people engaged in passing sensitive information to Pakistan. 

Who are they?

The CRPF Insider: Moti Ram Jat

Moti Ram Jat was not a high-ranking officer, but his access to operational details within the Central Reserve Police Force made him a candidate that Pakistani operatives could exploit. According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Jat had been in contact with Pakistan Intelligence Officers (PIOs) since 2023, passing along classified information in exchange for money.

The NIA arrested Jat from Delhi earlier this month after his social media activity triggered internal alarms. The CRPF, in a rare public disclosure, acknowledged that Jat was dismissed after being found to have “acted in violation of established norms and protocols.” 

Jat is currently in NIA custody until June 6. Investigation is still underway to determine what information he passed on to India’s nuclear-powered neighbour. 

Honeytrap At The Dockyard: Engineer Ravindra Verma

In Maharashtra, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested 27-year-old Ravindra Verma, a mechanical engineer employed by a Mumbai-based defence technology firm. Verma had access to the Naval Dockyard in south Mumbai and was involved in work related to submarines and warships.

His arrest was triggered by a forensic trail linking him to Facebook accounts under the names “Payal Sharma” and “Ispreet.” Investigators say these profiles were fronts for Pakistani agents who gradually lured Verma into a honeytrap. Verma began sharing detailed sketches, diagrams, and audio notes about naval assets in exchange for money sent via Indian and international bank accounts.

According to the police, Verma was not merely duped but knowingly and repeatedly shared confidential data. While phones were prohibited inside the Naval Dockyard, he would reportedly sketch from memory and send images later. The ATS suspects he also supplied ship names and docking schedules. He had been communicating with the Pakistani operative since November 2024 and is currently in custody.

The Influencer Asset: Jyoti Malhotra

Perhaps the most publicly visible case is that of travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra, who ran a popular YouTube channel. Her arrest by Haryana Police came in mid-May, following her alleged links to ISI operatives.

According to authorities investigating the case, Malhotra had direct, repeated contact with operatives at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi, as well as during visits to Pakistan, at least two of which were confirmed by travel records. She reportedly interacted with Pakistani intelligence officials named Danish, Ahsan, and Shahid. Forensic examination of her seized mobile phones and laptops revealed a trove of over 12 terabytes of data, including communications that investigators claim confirm her awareness of the agents’ ISI affiliations.

Despite being under scrutiny for disproportionate spending and multiple foreign trips, including to Pakistan and China, Malhotra continued her interactions with suspected handlers. One notable incident captured in a video by Scottish YouTuber Callum Mill showed her walking through Lahore’s Anarkali Bazaar accompanied by six men armed with AK-47s.

Malhotra has been charged under the Official Secrets Act and sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Her trial is scheduled to begin in June.

The Health Worker: Sahdev Singh Gohil

A 28-year-old health worker from Gujarat was arrested for transmitting sensitive information related to Indian military infrastructure to a Pakistani operative. 

Officials from the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) confirmed last Saturday that Sahdev Singh Gohil, a resident of the border district of Kachchh, had been detained earlier this month on charges of sharing classified images and videos of newly constructed Indian Air Force (IAF) and Border Security Force (BSF) installations with a foreign agent.

Senior ATS officer K Siddharth said that Gohil came into contact with a person identifying herself as Aditi Bharadwaj via WhatsApp in 2023. Investigators now believe Bharadwaj was a cover identity used by a Pakistani intelligence operative. The communication, according to ATS sources, evolved into an exchange of visuals and data concerning Indian military sites near the border.

According to investigators, Gohil procured a new SIM card registered under his Aadhaar details in early 2025 and activated a WhatsApp account on behalf of the alleged handler using a one-time-password (OTP) authentication process. This channel, officials say, was subsequently used to transmit sensitive content documenting military construction and movements in the area.

The ATS also said that Gohil had received a cash payment of Rs 40,000 from an unidentified individual.

The Haryana Arrests 

In Haryana, there has been a cluster of arrests which point to a recruitment effort by ISI targeting economically vulnerable young men.

Davender Singh Dhillon, a 25-year-old political science student from Patiala, was arrested after uploading pictures of firearms online. Investigation revealed that he had visited Pakistan in November 2024 and shared sensitive images of military installations.

Nauman Ilahi, a 24-year-old security guard, was arrested in Panipat. He had reportedly been transferring information to ISI handlers using his brother-in-law’s bank account. Authorities confirmed cross-border money transfers.

Arman, 23, and Tarif, both from Haryana’s Nuh district, were arrested within days of each other. Tarif was caught trying to delete chats with Pakistani numbers when police arrived at his residence.

The Bureaucratic Link

Shakur Khan, a Rajasthan government employee from Jaisalmer, was arrested on spying charges. Khan, 49, previously served as a personal assistant to former Rajasthan minister Shale Mohammad during the tenure of the Congress-led Ashok Gehlot government. Both men are from villages only 8 km apart. Mohammad, a two-time legislator and cabinet minister, has contested four state elections and is known to have affiliations with the ‘Pir Pagara’, a title held by the leader of the Muslim Sufi order of Hurs in Pakistan’s Sindh

Khan had visited Pakistan at least seven times. His digital footprint showed deleted files and suspicious transactions. His connections are now being probed further by central agencies.

The Digital Front: SIM Cards and Apps

In a separate case, Delhi Police arrested Kasim, a 34-year-old from Rajasthan’s Deeg, for allegedly supplying Indian mobile SIM cards to PIOs. He had travelled to Pakistan twice between August 2024 and March 2025, staying for extended periods. According to the police, Kasim facilitated the illegal export of Indian SIMs, which were then used by ISI operatives to contact Indians and solicit military information.

Kasim admitted to deleting all sensitive data post the Pahalgam attack, fearing exposure after nationwide arrests began. However, police are conducting a forensic analysis of his devices and reviewing call data records to map his network.

Another arrest in Thane involved an unnamed individual in Mumbai. He too was lured through Facebook and WhatsApp, sharing sensitive information between November 2024 and March 2025. 

The Businessman and the Techie

In Uttar Pradesh, Shahzad, a businessman from Rampur, was detained by the Special Task Force in Moradabad. Shahzad reportedly shared intelligence with handlers during multiple visits to Pakistan and was involved in the smuggling of consumer goods.

In Jalandhar, Mohammad Murtaza Ali was arrested after allegedly using a mobile application he developed to send sensitive data to ISI operatives. Investigators seized four mobile phones and three SIM cards from his residence. 

In addition to these confirmed cases, police and intelligence agencies are investigating two more individuals from Punjab, named Gazala and Yamin Mohammad, for similar offences. Authorities say both were in touch with foreign agents and are suspected of passing on sensitive information.

Post-Sindoor Vigilance

India’s counter-intelligence has been reshaped following Operation Sindoor. Conducted in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people, the operation saw India targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. The subsequent retaliatory strikes by Pakistan, including drones and missiles, were largely neutralised by Indian defences.

Since then, surveillance across border states and strategic sectors has intensified. According to police in Rajasthan, seven suspects have been questioned in Jaisalmer alone in the last month. In Haryana, authorities have begun reviewing financial records and travel histories of individuals in vulnerable professions.

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