Pak went satellite-hunting after Op Sindoor but found no proof of strikes: Ex-CDS

General Chauhan said Pakistan, uncertain about the outcome of its strikes, spent several days trying to obtain commercial satellite imagery, including from Chinese providers. However, it failed to find evidence of damage to its intended targets, he said, fuelling speculation in Pakistan that information had been withheld from it.He added that Pakistan then tried to obtain imagery from other Chinese satellites as well, but still could not establish that its strikes had hit any target. (Photo: ITG)Former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Tuesday said Pakistan was “blind” to the outcome of its strikes during Operation Sindoor and tried to obtain commercial satellite imagery, including from Chinese providers, to assess the damage, but failed to find evidence that its attacks had hit their intended targets, reported news agency ANI.Speaking at the VIMARSH event, General Chauhan said commercial satellite imagery was available to anyone through companies in the US and China, but access depended on contracts, payment arrangements and waiting periods. Referring to Pakistan’s efforts, he said, “But the fact is that they’re not able to hit targets. They did, of course, try.”Explaining how such imagery is obtained, General Chauhan said, “Commercial satellite images from Chinese providers are available to anyone. Anyone can buy them. It’s not that only Pakistanis can.”“Commercial satellite facilities are available from a number of US companies, and similarly, there are a number of Chinese companies in the field today that provide commercial imagery,” he added. He said these images were not instantly available and depended on the terms of access. “There’s always a waiting period, and you know, based on your contracts. It’s not that immediately things are available. You’ve signed a contract, they give you those kind of images on a particular payment under different models,” he said.General Chauhan said Pakistan was “blind” to the outcome of its strikes and later tried to obtain satellite imagery to find out whether any damage had been caused. “I think Pakistan felt that when I said that they were blind and, you know, they did not know the results of their strikes,” he said. He said the attempts to access imagery continued for days. “They were actually after 10th and till about 12th. They were trying their best to obtain images so that they had some evidence of some target with their head,” he said.He added that Pakistan then tried to obtain imagery from other Chinese satellites as well, but still could not establish that its strikes had hit any target.“But unfortunately, once they did not get it, they tried other Chinese satellites also. But since they were not able to hit any targets, they got no evidence,” General Chauhan said.According to him, the absence of such evidence later led to speculation within Pakistan that information may have been withheld from it. “But it created doubt in their mind after this also that, you know, people have maybe hidden this fact from them because of Indian insistence, so every kind of theory there,” he said.General Chauhan’s remarks came in the context of Operation Sindoor, which was launched by India on May 7, 2025, following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, in which 26 people were killed. Operation Sindoor targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.- EndsPublished By: Sayan GangulyPublished On: Aug 26, 2026 00:11 IST