India’s NSA Ajit Doval Confirms Precise Strikes on Nine Terror Targets Inside Pakistan, No Collateral Damage

India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Friday publicly has unequivocally confirmed that the Indian Air Force carried out precision strikes on nine terrorist targets deep within Pakistani territory under the now-revealed military operation codenamed Operation Sindoor.

The strikes, executed on the night of May 7, were in direct retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which left 26 Indian citizens dead, including women and children.

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Speaking at the 62nd Convocation of IIT Madras, Doval declared that all nine intended targets were successfully neutralized with pinpoint accuracy. 

The targets, he stressed, were not near the border, but deep inside Pakistan’s territory, including urban sectors under tight military surveillance. 

The entire operation lasted just 23 minutes, commencing at 1:05 a.m., and was conducted using indigenously developed technology, including BrahMos missiles, battlefield surveillance systems, and India’s integrated air command and control infrastructure.

"There was no collateral damage on Indian soil—not a single scratch," Doval asserted, dismissing foreign media reports that sought to mischaracterize the outcome. 

He challenged global outlets to produce even a single verified image showing damage to any Indian facility. 

“Not even a glass pane was broken,” he said, referencing multiple international satellite imagery comparisons that have since shown clear damage on Pakistani airbases, including those in Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi, and Chaklala.

The disclosure by Doval marks a rare official confirmation of the depth and success of cross-border strikes by Indian forces, and signals a significant escalation in India’s posture on cross-border terrorism. 

Operation Sindoor demonstrates a calibrated doctrine of deep-strike precision warfare, where retaliation is swift, surgical, and evidence-based.

Doval credited India's domestic defense ecosystem for the operation’s success. "We are proud that some of our best systems worked when it mattered most," he said, pointing to India’s rapid development of 5G in just 2.5 years, a feat he contrasted with China’s 12-year, $300 billion investment in the same technology.

India’s strategy, he said, is now rooted in self-reliance in critical security infrastructure, with a strict policy that any component related to data security or defense must be sourced domestically or from close allies. 

"Even a screw used in secure communication must come from a trusted source," he noted.

Earlier at the ceremony, cultural icon and Padma Vibhushan awardee Padma Subrahmanyam lauded Doval and Operation Sindoor, calling it a true embodiment of India’s civilizational values of righteous resistance. Her remarks were met with loud applause, highlighting the national pride surrounding the mission.

The event, held at one of India’s premier engineering institutions, also marked the graduation of 3,227 students, including 529 PhD holders. 

But the highlight remained the revelation of a highly classified air operation that has reshaped India’s counterterror doctrine and sent a clear strategic signal to both state and non-state actors across the region.

Operation Sindoor—named after the symbolic vermilion worn as a mark of sanctity and protection in Indian tradition—was a geo-political signal: India will retaliate decisively, surgically, and without apology when provoked.

With the global terror landscape evolving and Pakistan continuing to serve as a launchpad for proxy war, the success of Operation Sindoor could mark the beginning of a new deterrence architecture in South Asia, where India dictates the cost of cross-border aggression with targeted consequences.