Pakistan launches ‘Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos’ in response to India’s Operation Sindoor; what it means?

PTC Web Desk:  In a significant military escalation following India’s precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, Pakistan launched a retaliatory offensive named Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos in the early hours of Saturday. The attack involved the use of drones and missiles, including the Fattah-1 ballistic missile, targeting multiple locations in India. The operation, widely reported in Pakistani media, marks a notable uptick in cross-border hostilities.

The name Bunyan al-Marsoos—translated as "a solid wall of lead"—has roots in a Quranic verse that praises unity in battle for a divine cause. It has been interpreted as a deliberate attempt by Pakistan to lend religious legitimacy to its military actions. The Quranic reference reads: “Truly Allah loves those who fight in His cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure.” This move has raised concerns in India and internationally over Pakistan’s increasing use of religious rhetoric to justify state-sponsored aggression.

The Pakistani strikes, however, appear to be a reactive measure to India’s Operation Sindoor, which saw Indian forces targeting nine terror launch pads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on May 7. These strikes were launched in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 Indian civilians—predominantly tourists—were brutally murdered by Pakistan-based terrorists. Disturbingly, the attackers reportedly asked the victims to recite the Islamic kalma to identify non-Muslims before executing them at point-blank range in front of their families.

In sharp contrast to India’s carefully targeted strikes on terror infrastructure, Pakistan’s Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos has been marked by indiscriminate missile and drone attacks, including attempts to hit civilian and religious sites such as gurdwaras, convents, and temples. This has drawn criticism from Indian officials and political leaders, who accuse Pakistan of deliberately stoking communal tensions.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri addressed the media on May 9, stating, “Pakistan is again trying desperately to impart a communal hue to the situation with an intention to create discord. We are not surprised. India’s steadfast unity in itself is a challenge to Pakistan.”

The symbolic naming of India’s operation as Sindoor is equally telling. The term refers to the vermilion worn by married Hindu women and evokes themes of protection, dignity, and honor. It also alludes to the specific targeting of married men in the Pahalgam attack. In Indian tradition, sindoor has often been worn by warriors as a symbol of valor—making the operation’s name both humane and resolute.

While Pakistan seeks to portray Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos as a show of strength, its reactive posture and the very choice of a Quranic name suggest an underlying defensive narrative. According to defense analysts, the operation is a response to India’s successful breach deep into Pakistani territory—reportedly the first time since the 1971 war that Indian forces struck within Punjab province, nearly 100 km from the border.

Critics argue that Pakistan’s continued use of extremist ideology and religious justification for cross-border aggression is part of a longstanding pattern. The Pakistani deep state has often relied on radicalised proxies to wage asymmetric warfare, a strategy widely known as the “bleed India with a thousand cuts” doctrine.