‘This is limit of tolerance': India, Pakistan trade barbs at Shangri-La dialogue after Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor
NEW DELHI: The longstanding hostility between India and Pakistan was on full display at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, where top military officials from both countries presented sharply opposing views amid heightened tensions following a brief but intense military confrontation last month.
Held from Friday to Sunday, the Shangri-La Dialogue, billed as Asia's premier defence summit, became an unexpected stage for the subcontinental rivals to voice their positions after the April 22 terror attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which India blamed on Pakistan-based groups. Pakistan denies any involvement.
As the two nuclear-armed neighbours sat in adjacent conference rooms, their generals took part in overlapping sessions late Saturday afternoon, one on defence innovation, the other on regional crisis-management.
'India has drawn a new red line'
India's Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan made pointed remarks referencing
Operation Sindoor
, a military operation launched on May 7 to strike nine terror infrastructures across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead.
'What India has done, politically, is draw a new red line of intolerance against terror,' General Chauhan said. 'I hope this particular operation, which lies within the military domain, brings about some lessons for our adversary, and they learn that this is the limit of India's tolerance.'
'We have been subjected to this proxy war of terror for two decades and more, and we've lost a lot of people… we want to put an end to it,' he added.
The operation concluded on May 10 after four days of retaliatory action by India. India claims all subsequent military responses to Pakistani activity in that period were part of Operation Sindoor.
Pakistan's general issues warning
In a separate session, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of the Pakistan Armed Forces, warned of the dangers if another confrontation escalates.
'The strategic stability is threatened by the lowering of thresholds. If next time such a conflict occurs and cities are targeted first and borders become irrelevant... there could be a possibility that before the international community intervenes, because of the restricted or constricted time window, the damage and destruction may already have taken place,' he said.
In a broader interview with Channel News Asia, General Mirza said Pakistan continues to combat terrorism on its own soil, including cross-border activity from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
'Terrorism has cost Pakistan hundreds of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives,' he said.
Diplomatic push across the globe
While the military standoff ended on May 10, the diplomatic offensive is ongoing. India has dispatched multi-party delegations to more than 30 world capitals, including permanent and prospective members of the United Nations Security Council.
Congress party leader and former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid, who was part of the Indian delegation visiting East and Southeast Asia, including a stop in Singapore on May 27, called the outreach 'unprecedented.'
'There are seven delegations sent worldwide to all members of the Security Council. In that sense, it is an innovation,' he said. 'You might even put it as something that has started… something that will at least ensure our narrative is carried right through.'
Pakistan is expected to launch a similar diplomatic campaign beginning June 2.
Technology, tensions, and nukes off the table
The 96-hour military exchange in May was closely watched for its use of advanced weaponry.
According to Channel News Asia, both sides deployed modern jets, India's French-made Rafales and Pakistan's Chinese J-10Cs, equipped with precision-guided missiles. Drones and cyber capabilities were reportedly used as well.
General Chauhan highlighted India's diverse arsenal: 'India doesn't depend on one nation for its defence needs. A number of capabilities were put together, and most were used to good effect.'
General Mirza noted Pakistan's access to a wide range of international defence equipment. 'We have military equipment from the US, Turkiye, Italy, the UK, and China,' he said. 'We have equipment from all equipment-producing countries.'
Despite the rising tensions, both sides maintain that nuclear weapons were never considered. Pakistani officials, including General Mirza, dismissed reports suggesting Islamabad convened its National Command Authority, which oversees the country's nuclear arsenal.
'The tools of modern conflict are artificial intelligence, electronic warfare, cyber, precision firepower, and weapons,' General Mirza said, pointing to how future conflict could look very different from the past.
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