Indian Embassy clarifies Defence Attache's speech in Indonesia: Operation Sindoor remarks taken out of context

The Indian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, has issued a strong clarification after media reports claimed that a Defence Attache said India lost fighter jets to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. The embassy said the officer’s remarks were quoted out of context and misrepresented in media stories.

 

Remarks misquoted, says Indian Embassy in Jakarta

In a post on X, the Indian Embassy wrote that Defence Attache's "remarks have been quoted out of context and the media reports are a misrepresentation of the intention and thrust of the presentation made by the speaker."

The embassy clarified that the Defence Attache’s presentation was focused on highlighting how the Indian Armed Forces operate under civilian political leadership, unlike in some neighbouring countries. It also said that the presentation stressed that Operation Sindoor was carefully planned to avoid escalation, with the main goal being to target terrorist infrastructure.

Many on social media had criticised Congress leaders for misquoting Shiv Kumar, stating that the Defence Attache "stressed Bharat's non-escalator approach of targeting ONLY terrorist camps and avoid attack on military infra of Pakistan. HE NEVER SAID BHARAT LOST JETS DUE TO POLITICAL LEADERSHIP CONSTRAINTS."

 

 

Congress questions Modi government over conflicting statements

The controversy began after Congress leaders reacted to a media report that quoted Captain Shiv Kumar, the Defence Attache in Indonesia, saying that Indian Air Force jets were lost during the operation against terror targets in Pakistan on May 7.

 

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh and party spokesperson Pawan Khera accused the Modi government of hiding the truth and misleading the country. 

They also questioned why the Prime Minister had not called for an all-party meeting or agreed to a special session of Parliament to discuss the situation.

CDS General Chauhan on combat losses

Congress leaders referred to earlier comments by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, who in an interview said India had "rectified tactics" after suffering losses in the conflict. Though he did not confirm specific numbers, the Congress said it was an indirect admission.

CDS had reportedly admitted that the Armed Forces had suffered losses in the initial stages of the operation but then struck with impunity at Pakistan's bases.

"So what I can say is, on May 7 and the initial stages, there were losses, but the numbers and that's not important. What was important is why did these losses occur, and what will we do after that? So we rectified the tactics and then went back on seventh, eighth and 10th, and 10th in large numbers, to hit their bases deep inside Pakistan, penetrated all their defences with impunity, with scattered opposition strikes," Gen Chauhan was quoted as saying by Reuters.

On being asked about the losses incurred by Pakistan side during Operation Sindoor, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan in a press briefing had said, "When I was asked about losses on our side, I said these are not important. The results and how you act are important. It would not be very correct to talk about losses...Suppose you go in a cricket test match, and you win by an innings defeat, then there's no question of how many wickets, how many balls and how many players... Based on technical parameters, we will take out this particular data and share it with you. We will tell you how many aircraft we destroyed and how many radars did we destroy. We'll make a rough assessment of that and come out with that shortly.

 

Operation Sindoor: India Pakistan conflict

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, in response to the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives. The operation targeted terror camps in Pakistan-controlled areas using long-range weapons. The military conflict lasted four days and ended on May 10 after both sides agreed to de-escalate.

Government maintains operation was non-escalatory

The Defence Ministry and other senior officials have maintained that Operation Sindoor was a measured response. They said it was focused solely on destroying terror infrastructure and not intended to escalate into a full-blown war.