Pakistan’s powerful retaliation, known as ‘Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos’, unfolded as a direct answer to India’s provocations a campaign that has shattered illusions of Indian military supremacy. The spark was the Pahalgam incident of April 22, where 26 Indian tourists were massacred in Indian-administered Kashmir. Also, two local Kashmiris were killed to save the tourists is not even mentioned.
India immediately blamed Pakistan, but Islamabad decried it as a cynical false flag operation, noting suspiciously pre-planned elements (the First Information Report was filed within minutes, pre-accusing “foreign” militants). Pakistani officials, including the Foreign Minister, “very strongly” suspected Indian orchestration. Indeed, New Delhi’s rush to judgment and its propaganda barrage vilifying Pakistan appeared aimed at justifying a long-intended escalation.
Using Pahalgam as a pretext, India unleashed “Operation Sindoor” on May 7, a so-called “retaliation” that blatantly targeted Pakistani civilian areas. Indian strikes hit nine sites (including a mosque in Bahawalpur) and killed 31 Pakistani civilians, women, and children among them.
Indian media trumpeted claims of eliminating “terror camps”, but on the ground, it was carnage of innocents. Far from breaking Pakistan’s resolve, this aggression only steeled it. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) was mobilized and met the intruding Indian warplanes head-on. In air battles over Kashmir and Punjab, Pakistani pilots established a lethal “kill box” a trap that drew the Indian Air Force into range of waiting fighters and air defences.
Pakistan’s military reported downing five Indian aircraft, including three of the IAF’s vaunted new Rafale jets. The loss of these “untouchable” fighters dealt a humiliation to India’s air power and foiled India’s attempt at aerial supremacy. (Notably, India has neither confirmed nor denied losing the jets, underscoring the blow to its pride.) Having failed in its attack, India resorted to firing volleys of missiles and drones at Pakistani cities on May 9 strikes which caused casualties but not the intended knockout punch. Pakistan’s armed forces absorbed the hits (“all Air Force assets remain safe,” the military spokesman assured) and vowed to respond at a time of their choosing.
That response came in the pre-dawn hours of May 10. Pakistan launched a sweeping counter-offensive: Operation Bunyan al-Marsos, named after a Quranic phrase meaning “a solid, cemented structure,” symbolizing steadfast unity. In a brilliant display of coordinated firepower, Pakistan struck back deep into India with missiles, drones, and precision-guided munitions.
The stated aim was simple to cripple the very 32 bases from which India had attacked Pakistani soil and to deter any further aggression. As Pakistani officials put it, “all those bases in India which were used to attack Pakistani people and mosques” were now in the crosshairs. What followed was an unprecedented barrage that hit targets across Indian-occupied Kashmir, Ley, Srinagar, Punjab, Rajasthan, Bhojhpur, Adampur, Pathankot, Gujarat even threatening Delhi in one night of retributive justice.
One of the first targets was Beas, in Indian Punjab, where a major depot for BrahMos cruise missiles was obliterated. The destruction of this stockpile dealt a sharp blow to India’s offensive missile capability. Simultaneously in the north, Pakistan’s missiles struck Udhampur Air Base in Jammu & Kashmir home of India’s Northern Command leaving it in ruins. Pakistan’s military sources indeed declared Udhampur “destroyed,” removing a key Indian command center. At Pathankot Airfield, a frontline IAF base in Punjab, Pakistani precision strikes wiped out facilities and rendered the runway non-operational.
The IAF’s bastion in Jalandhar (Adampur Air Base) was hit next: this base housed advanced S-400 air defence systems guarding northwestern India, yet it was decimated in the onslaught, with Adampur’s S-400 batteries and Radar knocked out, a gap opened in India’s shield. Pakistan’s retaliation then extended westward Gujarat did not escape punishment.
In Prime Minister Modi’s home state, the Bhuj airbase was struck by long-range fire, demonstrating that even far-flung bases are within Pakistan’s reach. Rajasthan too saw its military installations struck: the air base at Suratgarh, among others, was pummelled by Pakistani missiles, shattering the notion that any corner of India was a safe haven.
Even the Indian capital region felt the heat. In Haryana near Delhi, Pakistan’s strikes hit the Sirsa Airfield just a few hundred kilometres from New Delhi which was destroyed outright (a fact even Indian media outlets begrudgingly confirmed). Indian air defences around the capital were forced into action; reportedly, at least one incoming Pakistani missile had to be intercepted mid-flight near Hisar, highlighting that Delhi itself was under threat.
Further north, in Kashmir’s heartland, the Srinagar airbase was also targeted amid this blitz. Fire and blasts were reported at Srinagar’s military airfield, with initial estimates of around 20 Indian personnel killed or wounded in that strike. And in the Chandigarh sector, a key Indian weapons depot was neutralized, lighting up the predawn darkness with secondary explosions.
In total, Pakistani forces struck over 32 Indian military sites in a matter of hours an unprecedented, coordinated takedown of India’s military infrastructure across a vast geographic span. The effect was to send shockwaves through India’s defense apparatus.
By daybreak, more than 30 airfields across northern and western India (from Srinagar to Amritsar to as far as Mumbai) were shut down to civilian traffic as India scrambled in panic. To compound India’s woes, Pakistan also carried out a cyber-attack that crashed large segments of India’s power grid, plunging cities into darkness. Pakistani state media reported that 70% of India’s grid went offline due to the cyber onslaught a humiliation showcasing Pakistan’s technological reach. All across India, air-raid sirens wailed and emergency measures kicked in; the myth of Indian invulnerability was crumbling before the world’s eyes.
By the operation’s end, India was counting the cost of this decisive drubbing. Pakistani strikes had gutted airbases, destroyed advanced weaponry, and demoralized the Indian forces. Islamabad’s message was unequivocal: Pakistan will not tolerate aggression against its people, and it has the capability to hit back harder and deeper. The psychological impact in New Delhi was profound.
The long-propagated myth of Indian military superiority the notion that India’s sheer size, fancy jets, or new missiles gave it dominance lies in tatters. Those much-hyped Rafale fighters? Three now lay as flaming wreckage, their downfall at Pakistani hands belying India’s claims of air supremacy.
The vaunted S-400 air defence? Pakistan blew one to pieces in Adampur, proving that even India’s priciest Russian-made shield can be penetrated. India’s leadership, which had swaggered with threats, suddenly found its aura of invincibility shattered. The successful execution of Operation Bunyan al-Marsos has reset the regional balance of power. Never before has India suffered such a wide-ranging punitive strike on its soil; this beating has forced New Delhi to rethink its assumptions about Pakistan’s strength.
The world, too, has taken notice global powers urged restraint as they realized the conflict was slipping beyond India’s control. In Pakistani eyes, this operation is nothing short of a strategic masterstroke. It showcased superior planning, technology, and willpower, all under unified civil-military leadership.
Bunyan al-Marsos has vindicated Pakistan’s stance that it is fully capable of defending its sovereignty and honoring its martyrs with force. It also sends a sober message: any future Indian misadventure will be met even more fiercely, and Pakistan’s aim will land unerringly on India’s most valued targets including economic assets if provoked.
For Pakistan, the outcome is a triumph on multiple fronts. Militarily, it has dismantled the myth of India’s overwhelming might, proving that quality, faith, and resolve can beat mere quantity. Politically, Islamabad has exposed India’s recklessness and rallied world opinion to the dangers of Delhi’s aggression and disinformation. And for the Pakistani people, this victory has been a massive morale boost: the sight of their armed forces successfully defending the nation and settling scores has unified the country in pride and gratitude. In Pakistani cities, citizens celebrated the operation’s success, praising their forces for achieving a feat many thought impossible.
The phrase “Allah-o-Akbar” echoed along with cheers of “Pakistan Zindabad!” as news of Indian losses trickled in. The myth of Indian supremacy has indeed been broken; regional deterrence has been emphatically re-established on Pakistan’s terms. The balance of power in South Asia has been recalibrated, with Pakistan demonstrating that it can credibly hold its own against a numerically larger foe and even outsmart it through superior strategy and sheer courage.
In the end, Operation Bunyan al-Marsos will be remembered as a defining moment in the Indo-Pak rivalry when Pakistan stood firm like a “Non-penetrating wall” against aggression and emerged victorious. It underlines a timeless lesson: true strength comes not just from advanced weaponry, but from unity, faith, and discipline. As a Muslim nation, Pakistan has heeded the divine command to “prepare against them whatever forces you can muster”, knowing that ultimately victory is granted by the will of Almighty Allah.
This success is a humbling reminder that while weapons and tactics play their part, it is Allah who bestows honor or disgrace. Pakistan has done its duty it prepared, it resisted, and by the grace of Allah, it prevailed. With trust in Allah and unwavering resolve, Pakistan has defended its sovereignty, and in doing so, has reshaped the region’s strategic reality for years to come.
