India responds to defence attache's comments on Operation Sindoor, says, 'his remarks have been...'

The Indian embassy in Indonesia on Sunday said that media reports have misrepresented the intent of a presentation made by a defence attache at a seminar on Operation Sindoor, which India launched in early May. The defence attache, Captain Shiv Kumar, had explained the Indian military's response in the initial phase of the operation at a seminar held in an Indonesian university. "We have seen media reports regarding a presentation made by the Defence Attache at a Seminar," the Indian embassy said, adding: "His remarks have been quoted out of context and the media reports are a mis-representation of the intention and thrust of the presentation made by the speaker."

Indian embassy clarifies intention
In a statement posted on X, the Indian embassy in Jakarta said, "The presentation conveyed that the Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood," in an apparent jab at the Pakistani government. "It was also explained that the objective of Operation Sindoor was to target terrorist infrastructure and the Indian response was non-escalatory," the statement further read.

Defence attache's alleged comments
According to media reports, the defence attache had said at the event on June 10 that India lost some fighter jets in the initial phase of Operation Sindoor due to restrictions imposed by the government on attacking Pakistani military establishments. The operation was launched by India in the early hours of May 7 in response to the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22. Under the operation, India struck several terror bases across Pakistan, which triggered a dayslong military conflict between the neighbouring countries.

Congress attacks BJP govt
The opposition Congress party has cited the defence attache's purported comments to criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government. "First the Chief of Defence Staff makes important revelations in Singapore. Then a senior defence official follows up from Indonesia," Congress leader and MP Jairam Ramesh said in an X post. "But why is the PM refusing to preside over an all-party meeting and take the Opposition into confidence? Why has the demand for a special session of Parliament been rejected?"