India’s military action against Pakistan continued today with precision strikes on Pakistani air defence systems. The move comes after Pakistan attempted to target Indian military bases in retaliation to Operation Sindoor, India’s anti-terror mission launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
No Military Targets Hit Initially: A Focused, Measured Response
India’s initial airstrikes under Operation Sindoor were “focused, measured, and non-escalatory,” according to the official government statement. The Indian Air Force struck 24 terror camps belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, ensuring no Pakistani military installations were targeted.
“It was specifically mentioned that Pakistani military establishments had not been targeted… Any attack on military targets in India will invite a suitable response,” said the Indian government.
Pakistan Responds With Escalation
Despite India’s restraint, Pakistan launched an escalatory response late last night. Drone and missile attacks were carried out targeting multiple military locations in northern and western India including:
- Awantipora, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala
- Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh
- Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj
These attacks were intercepted and neutralised by India’s Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems, the debris of which is now being recovered as evidence.
India Retaliates: Strikes Air Defence Systems in Pakistan
In direct response to the escalatory attacks, India this morning targeted Pakistan’s air defence infrastructure.
“Indian Armed Forces targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan. An Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised,” the government confirmed.
Artillery Shelling on LoC: Civilians Among the Casualties
Pakistan also increased artillery fire along the Line of Control (LoC), targeting areas in Jammu and Kashmir including Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, and Rajouri.
Tragically, 16 civilians, including three women and five children, lost their lives in these attacks. India responded with appropriate counterfire to suppress the Pakistani shelling.
Operation Sindoor: A Response to the Pahalgam Attack
The strikes under Operation Sindoor were launched in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, in which 25 tourists and a Kashmiri man were brutally killed. The Resistance Front, a known proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility.
Investigations linked the attack to terror modules operating from Pakistan, prompting India to act.
“There was a compulsion both to deter and to pre-empt,” said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
India’s Stand: No Escalation, But Firm Retaliation
India maintains that all its actions were proportionate and responsible, aimed only at dismantling terror infrastructure and preventing future attacks.
“India exercised its right to respond, pre-empt and deter more such cross-border attacks,” Misri reiterated.
