Former army commander who led western front in Operation Sindoor says Pakistan is unlikely to give up proxy war

LUCKNOW: Pakistan’s military still sees proxy war as a low-cost strategic tool against India and is unlikely to abandon terrorism as a tool of national policy despite repeated setbacks, former Western Army chief Lieutenant General Manoj Katiyar said on Tuesday.Lt Gen Katyal, while speaking at ‘Op Sindoor 2.0: Lessons, Strategies and Predictions’ organized by Lucknow-based strategic think tank STRIVE India under the auspices of Headquarters Central Command, said the Pakistan Army sustains terrorism because it enhances the army’s internal relevance and fuels its anti-India rhetoric.

In May 2025, the Indian military carried out Operation Sindoor, in which troops from the Western Command played an important role, with Lieutenant General Katiyar serving as the commander-in-chief. He retired from the Army on March 31, 2026, after 40 years of service.Talking about India’s escalating response after the terrorist attacks in Uri, Pulwama, Pahalgam and other incidents, Lieutenant General Katyal pointed out that the scale, depth and duration of Indian military operations have continued to increase.He stressed that India’s future response should not be limited to tactical punishment but should also impose ongoing military, political and psychological costs on Pakistan. “Deterrence must evolve into compliance because the costs of supporting proxy wars are too heavy for Pakistan to bear,” he said.Lieutenant General Qatiar hinted at the perception battle surrounding the outcome of Operation Sindoor on social media and international platforms. He further stated that in modern conflicts, “victory should be seen with one’s own eyes” and emphasized the importance of perception management in war. “Special emphasis must be placed on information warfare and cyber warfare, as these capabilities will play a decisive role in shaping the perception of victory and weakening the enemy’s combat capabilities,” he said.Underscoring the changing character of warfare, the former Army commander said future conflicts will increasingly be multi-domain in nature, being fought simultaneously on land, air, cyber, space, information and the electromagnetic spectrum.He drew lessons from Operation Sindor and ongoing global conflicts, emphasizing the increasing importance of drones, precision strikes, electronic warfare, intelligence fusion and compressed decision-making cycles.He also stressed the urgent need to improve military diplomacy and strengthen relations with friendly countries and neighboring countries.