India pounded Pakistan on Friday night after thwarting Pakistani drone strikes targeting 26 locations in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat, even as Islamabad launched its ‘Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos’ (meaning impenetrable wall) and made a futile attempt to attack Delhi with a Fatah-II long-range missile, which was intercepted in Haryana’s Sirsa.
Hostilities were high for the second straight day after Pakistan launched a fresh wave of drone attacks targeting 26 locations—from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat. “Drones have been sighted at 26 locations along the International Border and Line of Control with Pakistan. These include suspected armed drones," a defence ministry spokesperson said earlier. “The locations include Baramulla, Srinagar, Awantipora, Nagrota, Jammu, Ferozpur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala," he added.
Pakistan also continued to shell civilian areas across the border, in a sharp contrast from India, which has repeatedly emphasised that its strikes—including in Operation Sindoor—were aimed at terrorists and the country is only retaliating to unprovoked attacks by Pakistan. Three civilians were killed in Rajouri—including a senior J&K government official—one in Mendhar, and one in RS Pura as Pakistan Army continued to target civilian population on Friday night.
The strikes came a day after Pakistan used 300-400 Turkish-origin armed drones to target 36 locations inside India and used civilian airliners as a shield to attack military sites, prompting New Delhi to hit at Islamabad’s air defence systems at four places and destroy one of them.
On Friday night, Indian forces launched an “appropriate and proportionate" counter-strike, inflicting heavy damages to Pakistani military installations and assets. The airbases of Noor Khan (Rawalpindi), Murid (Chakwal), and Rafiqui (Shorkot) were breached in a further escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan as the former employed air-to-surface missiles. Two Pakistani fighter jets were shot down near Lasjan, Srinagar and the other in North Kashmir.
Pakistan was finally forced to close its airspace till 12 noon on Saturday, with Peshawar-bound Pakistan International Airlines flight PIA218, the last airborne flight in their airspace, forced to hover over Quetta.
Explosions were heard in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad and other big cities, including Lahore and Islamabad, as Pakistan Army claimed that India fired ballistic missiles. Following multiple drone attacks from Pakistan across the border, India, in its retaliatory measure, struck back with force in PoK’s Neelam Valley and Sialkot.
Multiple videos on social media suggested India successfully intercepted Pakistan’s long-range missile over Indian airspace at Sirsa, which was aimed at Delhi, but India’s superior air defence system, consisting of S-400, Akashteer, L-70, Zu-23 and Schilka, continued its dominance over the border skies, helping India thwart Pakistan’s nefarious designs. India also put its major cities on alert.
Top Indian government sources told, Pakistan should understand “we are committed for proportionate response; they should stop now otherwise, next time, it will be more serious and severe".
“Pakistan launching the Fatah Series ballistic missiles at Indian Air Force forward bases and cities under ‘Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos’ is a major escalation. India has hit major air bases of Pakistan, including Rawalpindi, in response and our air assets are safe. It seems a clear ploy by Pakistan to launch its big strike after the IMF bailout. The drones sent before this seem to be more of intel missions to assess our air defences," they said.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the April 22 Pahalgam attack in which 26 people—mostly tourists—were shot dead in Baisaran Valley by cross-border terrorists. The terrorists separated the men from their families, asked them to recite the Kalma and even stripped them to ascertain their religious identity, and then shot them dead at point-blank range.
India vowed to avenge the 26 lives, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first public address two days after the Pahalgam attack, saying: “India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth."
He added: “India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished. Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done. The entire nation is firm in this resolve. Everyone who believes in humanity is with us. I thank people and leaders of countries who have stood with us."
Two weeks after Pahalgam, India launched Operation Sindoor and struck nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK in precision strikes for 25 minutes, using missiles—“niche technology weapons with careful selection of warheads". Of the nine sites targeted, five were in PoK (two sites each in Muzaffarabad and Kotli and one in Bhimber), and four in Pakistan (two in Sialkot, one each in Muridke and Bahawalpur.
The nine sites targeted were Markaz Taiba at Muridke near Lahore, the headquarters of the Lashkar-e-Taiba where 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab and Lashkar scout David Coleman Headley were trained; Markaz Subhanallah, the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur; Sarjal in Sialkot; Mehmona Joya in Sialkot; Sawai Nala in Muzaffarabad; Syedna Bilal in Muzaffarabad; Gulpur in Kotli; Abbas in Kotli; and Bhimber.
The Pakistan Army said at least 26 people were killed and 46 injured in the strikes. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country has every right to respond to “this act of war".
Source: News18