International Relations GS 2 In the news 4 times

India's Counter-Terrorism Doctrine

From Strategic Restraint to Calibrated Response

For most of the post-1998 nuclear period, India maintained "strategic restraint" in response to Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism — absorbing attacks (Kargil 1999, Parliament 2001, Mumbai 2008) without conventional military retaliation. Operation Sindoor marked the formal abandonment of this posture. India framed its strikes as "focused, measured, and non-escalatory" — targeting terrorist infrastructure rather than Pakistani military or civilian facilities. This doctrine — sometimes called "calibrated retaliation" — establishes that India reserves the right to conduct precision conventional strikes against terrorist infrastructure on Pakistani soil without this constituting an act of war against Pakistan's state.

Key details

"Strategic restraint" was India's de facto policy from 1998 (nuclear tests) through 2025.
Surgical strikes (Uri, September 2016) and Balakot airstrike (February 2019) were incremental steps in moving away from restraint.
Operation Sindoor (May 2025) targeted 9 sites across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir — including Bahawalpur (JeM HQ), Murdike (LeT), and Muzaffarabad (LeT/HuM camps).
Over 100 terrorists killed; Indian forces struck 11 Pakistani airfields and destroyed 13 aircraft including one high-value airborne asset.
The ceasefire was achieved at DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) level on May 10, 2025 — a military operational pause, not a political settlement.