‘There will be a response and it will be punitive’: India warns Pak after ceasefire breach

“There will be a response — and it will be a punitive one.”

That was the blunt warning delivered by Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO), after Pakistan violated the ceasefire within hours of its announcement. 

Speaking at a special briefing on Sunday evening, Lt Gen Ghai confirmed that India has put Pakistan “on notice” and made clear that any further provocation will be met with fierce retaliation.

Lieutenant General Ghai said, “...We have been compelled to be in this situation and as you have seen, the armed forces of India, we are always prepared to face any eventuality...Whatever has to be done will be done. I am not concerned about what Pakistan will do; I am only concerned about what we will do. We have a roadmap and a plan and we will follow it diligently...” 

“The activities that have been going on for the last 3-4 days are no less than a war. Under normal circumstances, the air forces of each other's countries do not fly in the air and attack each other...Under normal circumstances, infiltration across the Line of Control is done by terrorists. We have information that the Pakistani army may also be involved in infiltration across the Line of Control, which is trying to harm our posts...” he added. 

Ghai said he had spoken directly to his Pakistani counterpart at 3:35 pm Saturday to agree on a halt to hostilities. “However, expectedly, it took only a couple of hours for Pakistan to violate these arrangements,” he noted. 

Drones were spotted and intercepted over Jammu and Kashmir — including Srinagar — and parts of Gujarat. Cross-border firing also continued through the night.

“These violations were responded to robustly,” Ghai said, adding that the Chief of Army Staff has given full authority to retaliate against any future breaches. 

A formal hotline message has been sent to Islamabad warning that any repeat will trigger a strong military response.

The Indian Navy has revealed its forward combat posture during the operation. Vice Admiral AN Pramod, Director General Naval Operations, said carrier groups, submarines, and aviation assets were deployed with full readiness within 96 hours of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

“Our forces were prepared to strike at sea and on land — including Karachi — at a time of our choosing,” he said. 

Pakistani naval units were largely forced to remain near ports, under constant Indian surveillance. “We had complete battle space transparency,” the Vice Admiral added, crediting India’s maritime domain awareness systems.

In the air, India’s operational edge remained intact. The Director General of Air Operations confirmed all Indian pilots had returned safely. 

Responding to questions on combat losses, he said, “Losses are part of combat scenarios,” without elaborating further.