Whole of Pakistan in range, relocating headquarters won't help, says DG Army Air Defence Lt Gen Sumer Ivan D'Cunha

Highlighting India's military and arsenal capabilities, Lt Gen Sumer Ivan D'Cunha, Director General of Army Air Defence, has said that India could strike targets across the full depth of Pakistan in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor. “The whole of Pakistan is within range.” 

He stated that even if they relocate the Pakistan Army's General Headquarters (GHQ) from Rawalpindi to regions like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), they will have to “find a deep hole,” Lt Gen D'Cunha told news agency ANI.

India's offensive strikes during Operation Sindoor targeted key Pakistani airbases with precision, utilising loitering munitions to destroy high-value targets.

‘Whole of Pakistan in range’

Lt Gen D'Cunha said, “I just like to say that India has an adequate arsenal of weapons to take on Pakistan right across its depth. So, from its broadest to its narrowest, wherever it is, the whole of Pakistan is within range. We are absolutely capable, from our borders or even in depth, where we can take on the entire Pakistan. And the GHQ can move from Rawalpindi to KPK or wherever they want to move, but they are all within range, so they will have to really find a deep hole.”

Modern indigenous technology, including long-range drones and guided munitions, played a crucial role in Operation Sindoor's success, he said

Lt Gen D'Cunha further underscored that the armed forces' primary duty is protecting the nation's sovereignty and its people, the ANI report said.

“Our job is to protect our sovereignty, our people... So, I think that the very fact that we have been able to protect our motherland from this onslaught, which was aimed at causing a lot of problems in population centers and in our cantonments, the very fact that we have given this reassurance to our people, not only to our civil population... a lot of our own jawans, officers, wives were staying in cantonments. And they were also equally concerned about these drone attacks. And the very fact that we ensured that this did not manifest in any casualties, I am sure it not only made the soldier feel proud, but it also made the families feel proud. And finally, the population of India feel proud. I think that's the takeaway,” he told ANI.

India-Pakistan conflict

Tensions soared after the Indian Armed Forces on the intervening night of 6 and 7 May conducted precision strikes, under Operation Sindoor, targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to 22 April attack by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.

In the early hours of 7 May, Pakistan began heavy shelling across the LoC in Poonch, increasing the intensity of unprovoked firing in Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Medhar and Rajouri sectors of Jammu and Kashmir.

On 8 May, the Indian armed forces targeted Pakistan's air defence radars and systems at several locations, in which the air defence system in Lahore was neutralised.

On the intervening night of 8 and 9 May, Pakistan had launched a series of coordinated drone and missile attacks along India's western border, targeting 26 locations. Defence officials said the attacks were intercepted by India's air defence systems, including the S-400 missile defence system, preventing significant damage.

Then, for the third consecutive day, on the intervening night of 9 and 10 May, Pakistan violated Indian airspace by launching drones at several locations. Pakistan had also resorted to cross-border firing and shelling along the LoC and the International Border.

On the morning of 10 May, India carried out strikes at four airbases in Pakistan. Precision strikes were carried out on Pakistani military targets in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, and Chunian, as well as radar sites at Pasrur and Sialkot aviation bases, using air-launched weapons from Indian fighter jets, the Indian Army said.

By the evening of 10 May, India and Pakistan decided to stop firing and military action on land and in the air from 5 pm, an agreement that Pakistan violated later that night.