Air Marshal AK Bharti's viral statement, "Our job is to hit the target, not count body bags," from the Operation Sindoor briefing emphasizes India's focus on precision strikes and military resolve.
Sunday's briefing by Indian armed forces' officials, detailing what the nation has achieved so far under Operation Sindoor, has sparked widespread attention, particularly a statement by Air Marshal AK Bharti that has since gone viral. The statement, “Our job is to hit the enemy target, not counting the body bags, that is up to them,” captured the essence of India’s resolve during its ongoing military operations against terrorism and cross-border aggression.
The briefing, held in the capital, provided new insights into the success of the operation, launched in response to the dasdardly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
During the session, Air Marshal Bharti underscored the decisive impact of Indian operations, stating, “Whatever methods and whatever means we have chosen, it had the desired effects on the enemy targets. How many casualties? How many injuries? Our aim was not to inflict casualties, but in case there have been, it is for them to count. Our job is to hit the target, not to count the body bags. That is up to them.”
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The statement has resonated widely, particularly as it came in the aftermath of a tense period when Pakistan escalated its provocations. Bharti’s remark has since become a defining response in India's ongoing military strategy, signifying the focus on achieving strategic objectives over tallying enemy losses.
In a follow-up statement, Air Marshal Bharti elaborated on the challenges posed by Pakistan's aggressive actions, including drone and aircraft violations of Indian airspace. He confirmed that India had successfully thwarted these incursions, preventing Pakistani aircraft from reaching their targets while inflicting losses on the adversary’s air forces.
On being asked how many Pakistani planes were downed, Air Marshal AK Bharti further confirmed, “Their planes were prevented from entering inside our border. Definitely, we have downed a few planes. Definitely, there are losses on their side which we have inflicted.”
“All I can say is that we have achieved our objectives that we selected and all our pilots are back home,” he added.
‘Over 100 terrorists killed, Pakistan Army lost 35-40 personnel’
Further elaborating on the operation, Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, the Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO), explained that Operation Sindoor was conceived as a direct and forceful response to the brutal terrorist attack at Pahalgam on April 22, where 26 innocent lives were lost. He emphasized that the operation aimed to strike the heart of terrorist infrastructure across nine terror hubs, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists, including key figures involved in the hijack of IC814 and the Pulwama blast.
“Those strikes across those nine terror hubs left more than 100 terrorists killed, including high-value targets such as Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf, and Mudasir Ahmed,” General Ghai said. He also highlighted how intelligence agencies had pinpointed camps in both PoJK and Pakistan’s Punjab province, such as Muridke, a notorious stronghold of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group.
The operation’s strategic objectives were not just to neutralize terrorist leaders but to dismantle the larger terror infrastructure. “Some of these camps were now bereft of presence and had preemptively been vacated, fearing retribution from us,” Ghai remarked. The operation also managed to inflict significant damage, with Pakistani forces suffering substantial casualties along the LoC.
"The Pakistan Army has reported to have lost approximately 35 to 40 personal in artillery and small arms firing on the Line of Control between 7th and 10th May,” he said.
The success of Operation Sindoor is expected to serve as a critical turning point in India's defence strategy, with both the military and political leadership sending a strong message of resolve against terrorism and external threats. As Air Marshal Bharti succinctly put it, the focus remains on hitting the target, not tallying the enemy’s losses.
