‘Aapko Phir Mauka Milega’: PM Modi’s Promise To Naval Chief Tripathi After India-Pak Ceasefire—

Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally recognised the resilience of the Indian armed forces on the morning of May 10 for executing a series of precision operations against terror camps in Pakistan as part of Operation Sindoor. He congratulated the trio leading Indian armed forces—Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, General Upendra Dwivedi, and Admiral Dinesh Tripathi— for their leadership during the operation and also made a promise to the naval chief.

Turning to Admiral Tripathi, he remarked: “Humne aapke mooh se niwala cheen liya, aapko mauka phir milega” (“I have snatched the morsel out of your mouth, but your turn will come”). This exchange occurred shortly after the Indian Navy was ordered to stand down from a BrahMos missile strike on Karachi, a report by Hindustan Times noted.

Despite concerns of possible Pakistani retaliation against Gujarat, the Prime Minister granted the three service chiefs full operational autonomy and signalled readiness for any consequence.

While some later debated the scale of ACM Singh’s public remarks in Bengaluru, the Air Chief’s statements referenced only verified Pakistani losses—excluding partial kills and other classified data.

Intelligence sources indicate that on May 10, a hangar housing C-130 Hercules VVIP transport aircraft at Chaklala Airbase in Rawalpindi was severely damaged, with two F-16 fighter jets destroyed in Jacobabad. The northern Pakistan Air Force (PAF) command-and-control network was reportedly blinded after Nur Khan Airbase was struck at 2:30 a.m. that day. The fear induced by Indian Army M777 Excalibur artillery and Warmate loitering munitions prompted Pakistani troops to abandon forward posts along the Line of Control, Hindustan Times reported.

The Indian Air Force’s strikes forced PAF’s most valuable assets to redeploy toward the country’s western borders. In a high-profile engagement, an Indian S-400 missile downed a wide-bodied aircraft, which was identified by most officials as a Saab AEW&C platform, 315 kilometers inside Pakistani territory. Naval intelligence further reported that almost no Pakistan Navy warships or submarines ventured to sea, with most vessels retreating toward Gwadar, fearing Indian response.