Introduction: The Strategic Shock of Operation Sindoor
The geopolitical stability of South Asia was irrevocably altered in May 2025. The conflict, now cataloged in military archives as “Operation Sindoor” by India and “Operation Bunyan-un- Marsous” by Pakistan, served as a violent stress test for the deterrence theories that had governed the subcontinent for nearly three decades. While the engagement lasted only four days from May 7 to May 10, 2025, its brevity belied its transformational impact on the strategic calculus of the region. For the Pakistan Defense Forces, the conflict was less a military engagement and more a revelation of systemic obsolescence, catalysing one of the most aggressive and rapid military restructuring programs in the nation’s history.
