NEW DELHI: In fast widening hostilities, India hit several air defence systems and other targets in Pakistan after thwarting missiles and drones launched from across the border against Indian military bases and civilian areas in the early hours of Thursday as well as later at night.“Operation Sindoor is fully underway. Pakistan army chief Asim Munir will not be given a face-saving exit,” a senior officer told TOI, as India’s counter-strikes were still unfolding at night, including forward deployment of warships in northern Arabian Sea and total breakdown of the LoC ceasefire.Amid the ‘fog of war’, there were unconfirmed reports of two Pakistani JF-17 jets and an F-16 fighter being shot down and India targeting Pak capital Islamabad.The IAF deployed Israeli-origin Harop and Harpy kamikaze drones, which act as cruise missiles by exploding into enemy targets and radars, soon after Pakistan launched a salvo of missiles and suicide drones at 15 Indian military targets in northern and western India around 1am.
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The drone and missile attacks by Pakistan resumed as it got dark, with multiple locations being targeted, including Jaisalmer air base, Amritsar and military stations of Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur as well as other places like Samba and Arnia. Explosions caused panic in Jammu city as the heavily-guarded airport was one of the targets. “The threats were neutralised by our armed forces through kinetic and non-kinetic (jamming) actions. There were no losses,” an officer said.Attack on military targets will invite suitable response: Govt India launched a massive retaliatory attack on Thursday as IAF drone strikes destroyed a Chinese-origin HQ-9 surface-to-air missile and radar system in Lahore. Other sites targeted in Pakistan included Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Khenju (Sind), Attock, Miano, Bahawalpur and an area near Karachi.Earlier in the day, Pakistan launched an attack on Indian military assets, including IAF bases in Awantipura, Srinagar and Uttarlai as well as Army formations in Jammu, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Bathinda and Chandigarh, which was foiled by the multi-layered air defence network led by the formidable Russian-origin S-400 ‘Triumf’ surface-to-air missile system.Also read: Army foils Pakistan’s attempts to send swarm drones across LoCFollowing India’s retaliation, defence minister Rajnath Singh said India has always played the role of a responsible nation by exercising great restraint and trying to resolve issues through dialogue. “But if anyone tries to take advantage of our restraint, they will face the same kind of quality action as yesterday,” he said.Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said the Pahalgam terror massacre was the “original escalation” and the Indian armed forces were only responding to it. “India’s response is non-escalatory, precise and measured. Our intention is not to escalate matters, and we are only responding to the escalation,” he said. “Any further action by Pakistan, some of which we are seeing today, is nothing but escalation by Pakistan once again, and will be responded to and is being responded to appropriately,” he added.The outrage at Pakistan’s attempt to hit Indian military bases at 15 locations in the morning was quite evident. Colonel Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, at a briefing, said it had been made amply clear that Operation Sindoor on Wednesday had specifically hit nine terror hubs across the border, without any Pakistani military establishments being targeted.“It was also reiterated that any attack on military targets in India will invite a suitable response. On Thursday, the Indian response has been in the same domain with the same intensity as Pakistan,” Wing Commander Singh said.Pakistan has increased the intensity of its unprovoked firing across the 778-km Line of Control, using mortars and heavy-calibre artillery guns in Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar and Rajouri in J&K, in which 16 civilians, including three women and five children, were killed. “Here too, India was compelled to respond to bring mortar and artillery fire from Pakistan to a halt. The Indian armed forces reiterate their commitment to non-escalation, provided it is respected by the Pakistani military,” Col Qureshi added.
