India's External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, has ignited a debate surrounding India's air strikes against alleged terrorist networks in Pakistan, after he revealed that Pakistan was put on advanced notice about Operation Sindoor on May 6th.
Critics of Jaishankar's comments suggest that notifying Pakistan ahead of time compromised India's actions, creating an opportunity for Pakistan to ready its defenses.
The opposition Congress party denounced the announcement as a tactical blunder that put aesthetics before security. Congress Kerala described Jaishankar as “unfit” for his position.
Defence analyst Pravin Sawhney described the choice of a public announcement as a sign of “arrogant foreign policy”, and called for India to rethink its policy direction. He pointed out that only Israel and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which India does not formally recognize, supported the operation.
Pakistan shot down five of India's fighter jets, including advanced Rafale jets. India has not yet commented on these losses, drawing further scrutiny.