Bunyān al-Marsūs
On 10 May 2025, Pakistan initiated Operation Bunyān al-Marsūs, translating to “The Solid Wall” in Arabic, as a decisive, multi-domain response to India. In response to Indian airstrikes during Operation Sindoor after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, this counteroffensive integrated traditional strikes with innovative cyber and electronic warfare, establishing a novel framework in South Asian military conflict.
Context: Intensification Prior to the Tempest
In April 2025, a catastrophic terrorist attack in Pahalgam resulted in the deaths of 28 civilians. India attributed the attacks to militants based in Pakistan and commenced airstrikes on 7 May under Operation Sindoor, focusing on locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
On 10 May, Pakistan intensified tensions and initiated a decisive response, citing civilian casualties and significant damage to critical infrastructure.
Precision Kinetic Strikes
Battlefield Recalibrated High-Impact Strikes and Key Targets:
Pakistan’s military executed a coordinated operation using tactical missiles, armed UAVs, and deep-penetration drone attacks aimed at more than 25 essential Indian installations.
Significant Objectives Annihilated or Impaired:
- Beas: BrahMos missile depot in Beas destroyed
- Udhampur: Russian-made S-400 HIMAD air defence system destroyed
- Pathankot: Airbase incapacitated; airfield obliterated
- Nagrota: BrahMos launch facility incapacitated; Northern Command headquarters significantly compromised
- Akhnoor: Brigade headquarters obliterated; field command incapacitated
- Uri & Srinagar: Supply depots destroyed; airbase targeted; over 20 fatalities confirmed
- Jalandhar: Airbase and infrastructure severely impaired
- Suratgarh and Sirsa: Airfields entirely obliterated
- Chandigarh: Armaments facility neutralised; communications blackout enforced
- Rajouri: Military Intelligence Headquarters targeted
- Jammu, Baramulla, Nowgam, Samba, Awantipura, Poonch: Principal logistics and command centres neutralised
Utilised Weapons:
- Fateh-1 and Fateh-II tactical missiles (range of up to 400 km): Accurate assaults on fortified objectives
- Ra’ad-II/CM-400AKG cruise missiles: Low-altitude, deep-penetration strikes
- Akinci and Burraq drones: Armed unmanned aerial vehicles employed in swarm tactics.
- Conventional artillery and multiple launch rocket systems: Provide supporting fire on border installations.
Aerial Warfare and Adversarial Asset Neutralisation
In the third wave of aerial operations, the Pakistan Air Force targeted several Indian air assets.
- Rafale Downed: According to a credible but unverified report, a JF-17 Block III using PL-15 missiles may have shot down a Rafale near Kotli.
- Wing Commander Shivani Singh: Ejected and apprehended near the Line of Control; treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention.
- Over 90 Israeli-made Indian drones were neutralised through electronic warfare interference or kinetic strikes.
Drone Warfare: Infiltration Campaign Targeted Regions:
- Jammu and Kashmir: Nagrota, Uri, Rajouri, Baramulla, Nowgam, Poonch, Awantipora
- Punjab and Rajasthan: Pathankot, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj
- Delhi NCR/Haryana: Missile intercepted near Hisar; extensive alert activated
- These incursions disrupted logistics, surveillance, and base operations deep within the Indian territory, circumventing multilayered air defences.
Cyber Warfare: Tactical Digital Decapitation
Pakistan’s cyber forces conducted one of the most intricate coordinated assaults on Indian cyber infrastructure to date.
- Disruption in Energy and Utilities: 10 SCADA systems incapacitated
- 70% of the Northern grid is nonoperational.
- Wind and urban energy networks in Rajasthan and Gujarat have been deactivated.
- There is no longer any digital control over Indian Railways.
- Delhi Gas and Kashmir Electric networks incapacitated
- Digital Intrusion & Data Compromise: 507 critical systems eradicated
- 150 essential databases compromised
- There has been a breach in fifteen government email servers.
- The UIDAI (Aadhaar), Paytm, Mumbai Airport, IAF networks, and the Maharashtra Election Commission have been accessed.
- Over 2,500 surveillance nodes compromised
- Compromised or Erased Systems: BJP (MP), MTNL, HAL, BEML, BSF, CRIAI, AINTSSA
- Three national media platforms and over 110 corporate websites
- These operations used AI-driven malware, logic bombs, and wiper payloads, resulting in cascading failures and overwhelming CERT capabilities.
Electronic Warfare: Communication Disrupted
The Electronic Warfare Division of Pakistan incapacitated India’s C4ISR capabilities.
- Uplinks of the GSAT-7A military satellite have been disrupted, incapacitating AEW&C platforms.
- The Akash and S-400 radar networks were incapacitated by both ground-based and airborne jamming systems.
- The tactical radios of the Indian Army became inoperative, which postponed the artillery response.
- Heron UAVs were either spoofed or crashed as a result of GPS jamming and signal interference.
Assessment of Casualties and Damage
Although official Indian statistics are incomplete, open-source intelligence and local media corroborate:
- Twenty-three military personnel, comprising six airmen, are either deceased or unaccounted for.
- Punjab and Jammu reported five civilian fatalities and over forty injuries.
- Numerous airbases rendered inoperative
- Elimination of strategic surface-to-air missile systems and logistical depots
- India asserts a 70% interception rate; however, analysts challenge this statistic in light of the depth and accuracy of Pakistani strikes.
Global Response: Appeals for Composure
UN: António Guterres urged prompt de-escalation and diplomatic dialogue.
- The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, denounced assaults on civilian infrastructure.
- China and Russia have issued advisories; Russia has extended technical cyber recovery assistance to India.
India’s Cyber Consequences and Prospective Repercussions
Subsequently, India’s Ministry of Electronics mandated a comprehensive audit of national digital assets. Internal sources acknowledge the compromise of cyber defences, requiring immediate recruitment and reorganisation of India’s cybersecurity framework. Despite not revealing specifics, India has pledged digital retribution.
Conclusion: An Emergence of Multi-Domain Warfare
Procedure Bunyān al-Marsūs has transformed warfare on the subcontinent. The integration of surgical kinetic operations with extensive cyber and electronic disruption exemplified Pakistan’s advanced military doctrine. India now confronts a stark reality: future conflicts will be waged not solely with explosives and firearms but also through digital data and bandwidth.
References
- Defense News Today—Latest Updates on South Asia Conflicts
🔗 https://www.defensenewstoday.info/ - Pakistan Defense Forum – Live Military Discussions & Analysis
🔗 https://www.facebook.com/groups/pakistandefenseforum - The Diplomat—Military Balance in South Asia
🔗 https://thediplomat.com/ - Jane’s Defence Weekly – Intelligence and Military Assets
🔗 https://www.janes.com/ - Al Jazeera – India-Pakistan Border Tensions
🔗 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/ - Reuters – India Cyber Attack Reports
🔗 https://www.reuters.com/world/india/ - Economic Times – UIDAI and Government Infrastructure News
🔗 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
