‘Did attempt to communicate…’: DGMO Lt Gen Ghai's remarks resurface after Rahul Gandhi's allegations; what he said?

Soon after Rahul Gandhi attacked the government for ‘informing’ Pakistan about the targeting terror bases ahead of Operation Sindoor, the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai's remarks have resurfaced where he had addressed claims saying that India had attempted to communicate its intent to strike terror bases in the “immediate wake of Operation Sindoor.”

Addressing the media on May 11, Lt General Ghai said that the compulsion of India to strike at the “heart of terror” was communicated to the Pakistan DGMO, however, the Pakistan side had “brusquely turned down” the request, ANI reported.

“Even though we did attempt to reach out and communicate our compulsions to strike at the heart of terror to my counterpart in the immediate wake of Operation Sindoor, the request was brusquely turned down with an intimation that a severe response was inevitable and in the offing. We were, of course, prepared,” DGMO Ghai said during a press conference.

Also Read: No expiry date for break in hostilities between India-Pakistan: Indian Army

Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs called the accusations by the Congress MP as an “utter misrepresentation of facts.” The MEA said that EAM Jaishankar had stated that the government warned Pakistan at “the early phase after Operation Sindoor's commencement” and not before it.

“EAM had stated that we had warned Pakistan at the start, which is clearly the early phase after Op Sindoor's commencement. This is being falsely represented as being before the commencement. This utter misrepresentation of facts is being called out,” the ministry's external publicity (XP) division said in a statement.

Also Read: India, Pakistan extend de-escalation understanding, to continue ‘confidence-building measures’

The clarification came after Rahul Gandhi posted a video on X, in which Jaishankar is seen speaking to the media on Thursday following the inauguration of the Honduras Embassy in Delhi.

In his X post, Gandhi alleged wrongdoing by the government, stating: “Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result?”

India initiated Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a direct response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians. As part of the operation, the Indian Armed Forces struck terror infrastructure located deep within Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The offensive led to the elimination of over 100 terrorists affiliated with groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.

Following the strikes, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling and attempted drone attacks. In response, India launched coordinated airstrikes that damaged key military infrastructure across 11 Pakistani airbases. On May 10, both sides announced an understanding on the cessation of hostilities.

 (With inputs from ANI)