NEW DELHI, May 12 -- Operation Sindoor, New Delhi's direct military response to the Pahalgam terror strike, showed the unflinching courage and resolve of the Indian armed forces as they smashed terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), and gave a crushing blow to the neigbouring military by striking its bases after it made brazen attempts to target the country's military infrastructure and civilian areas, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday. The attacks not only shook Pakistani military bases near the border but even Rawalpindi, where the Pakistan Army is headquartered, felt the brunt of the Indian response, Singh said while remotely commissioning a BrahMos missile facility in Lucknow. The BrahMos missiles were used to strike Pakistani targets, including air bases, after Operation Sindoor was launched in the early hours of May 7, officials aware of the matter said. "Our armed forces displayed valour and restraint and gave a befitting reply by attacking many military bases of Pakistan. Not only did we act against military bases adjacent to the border, but the indignation of our armed forces reached even Rawalpindi, where the Pakistani military headquarters are located," Singh said. The comments came a day after India and Pakistan agreed to stop all military actions against each other, ending four days of fierce fighting across the western border, although by late Saturday evening, there were enough violations by Pakistan to evoke a strong statement from India. The confrontation represented the worst face-off between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in decades and stoked fears of a full-blown shooting war. Operation Sindoor is not just military action, but a symbol of India's political, social and strategic resolve, Singh said. "It's proof that whenever India acts against terrorism, even the land across the border is not safe for terrorists and their masters. The armed forces ensured justice for the innocent families who lost their loved ones at the hands of terrorist organisations." The four-day conflict revealed warfare's dual revolutions: advanced strike systems and sophisticated information operations that aided both sides to target the other deep behind enemy lines without crossing physical borders. Both militaries deployed fighter jets, drones, standoff weapons and automated air defences, while simultaneously waging battles over perception and reality on the digital battlefield. "Through the surgical strikes after the Uri incident, air strikes after Pulwama attack and now multiple strikes after the Pahalgam attack, the world has witnessed what India can do if terror attacks are carried out on its soil. Following the policy of zero tolerance against terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear that this New India will take effective action against terrorism on both sides of the border," Singh said. The weapons deployed to hit targets in Pakistan included Rafale-launched Scalp cruise missiles and Hammer smart weapon, guided bomb kits, Akash surface-to-air missiles, Barak 8 defences, BrahMos missiles, anti-drone technologies, M777 howitzers with Excalibur munition, and loitering munitions --- essentially sensor-equipped kamikaze drones. The air-launched BrahMos supersonic cruise missile added to the effectiveness of India's strikes on enemy targets. The BrahMos is not just one of the world's fastest supersonic cruise missiles, "but a message of the strength of the Indian armed forces, a message of deterrence to India's adversaries, and a message of the nation's unwavering commitment to safeguarding its borders," Singh added. On the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, the IAF struck around a dozen Pakistani military targets and airbase in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunian, Pasrur, Sialkot, Skardu, Sargodha, Jacobabad and Bholari. The targets hit by India included runways, technical infrastructure, command and control centres, radar sites and weapon storage areas. Most of the Pakistani counter-strikes were thwarted. The operation began on Wednesday with India achieving its intended target; it hit nine terror training camps in Pakistan and PoK, the precision strikes killing more than 100 terrorists in just 26 minutes. The targets were selected based on hard intelligence and their nefarious track record of perpetrating terror activities. Five of the terror sites targeted across the Line of Control in J&K were between nine and 30 km inside PoK; the rest six to 100 km across the international border (IB) inside Pakistan....