Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan on Friday said Operation Sindoor compelled Pakistan to rush through constitutional amendments and restructure its higher defence organisation, calling it an implicit acknowledgement that the operation did not go in Islamabad’s favour.
Speaking at the Pune Public Policy Festival 2026 at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Gen Chauhan said Pakistan’s actions after the operation revealed serious structural and operational shortcomings exposed during the conflict. He noted that sweeping changes to Pakistan’s military command architecture pointed to gaps that became evident under pressure.
‘Land-Centric Mindset’ And Risky Centralisation
Pakistan, he said, has abolished the post of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and replaced it with a chief of defence forces. It has also created a National Strategy Command and an Army Rocket Forces Command. According to Gen Chauhan, these moves have concentrated land, joint and strategic military powers in the hands of a single individual.
“This goes against the basic principle of jointness and reflects a land-centric mindset,” he said, warning that such centralisation could eventually create internal challenges within Pakistan’s military system.
How India’s Command Structure Differs
Responding to questions on whether Operation Sindoor had triggered changes in India’s own command framework, the CDS said his role does not involve direct command over the three service chiefs. However, he stressed that the position carries clear operational responsibility.
As the permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen Chauhan said decisions are taken collectively, ensuring integrated planning and coordinated execution. He added that the CDS directly oversees emerging operational domains such as space, cyber, electromagnetic and cognitive warfare, as well as special forces under the Integrated Defence Staff.
Placing the discussion in a wider global context, Gen Chauhan said military strategy worldwide is undergoing a fundamental shift, with technology increasingly overtaking geography as the main driver of warfare. “Traditionally, from Panipat to Palasi, geography defined military campaigns. Today, technology is driving strategy,” he said.
He cautioned, however, that while future conflicts may rely more on non-contact and non-kinetic means, traditional land warfare remains brutal and manpower-intensive, particularly along disputed borders with Pakistan and China. “We must be prepared for both, smarter, technology-driven wars and the possibility of attritional contact warfare, while striving to avoid the latter,” he said.
Lessons From Operation Sindoor
Gen Chauhan said several lessons had been drawn from Operation Sindoor and earlier engagements, including the Uri surgical strikes, the Doklam and Galwan standoffs, and the Balakot air strike. These operations, he noted, were executed through innovative, situation-specific command arrangements.
“What we are now working towards is a standardised system that can be applied across all contingencies,” he said.
Expressing confidence in the pace of reforms, the CDS said most of the groundwork for establishing joint theatre commands has been completed. He added that he was optimistic the integrated command structure would be in place before the revised deadline.
