*Govt says Islamabad used Turkish drones to target India and utilised civilian planes as shield *Drone attack on Srinagar airport thwarted, blasts heard in Jammu, parts of south Kashmir *3 more people killed in shelling
New Delhi: India on Friday said Pakistan launched between 300 and 400 Turkish drones across 36 locations from Leh to Sir Creek in its failed attempt to target Indian military installations on Thursday night and also accused that country of using its civilian planes as a “shield” for its aerial attacks endangering the flights.
As Pakistan launched multiple drone attacks again on Friday night, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said Pakistan’s strike on places of worship and its “preposterous” attempts to put the blame on Indian armed forces is reflective of Islamabad’s evil design and efforts to deceive and mislead the world.
Drone attacks on Srinagar airport and Awantipora air base were thwarted late on Friday, while blasts were heard in Jammu and parts of the south Kashmir region, officials said.
The sky was lit up in Baramulla district as the Indian military shot down Pakistani drones.
Blasts were heard and sirens sounded in the Jammu region and south Kashmir as many parts of the Union territory plunged into darkness, officials said.
Defence officials said drones were sighted also in Jammu, Samba and neighbouring Pathankot district in Punjab, and they were being engaged.
In Srinagar, mosque loudspeakers were used to convey to locals to switch off their lights as a precautionary measure.
Citing Pakistan’s attack on a gurdwara in Amritsar and its subsequent attempt to blame it on Indian armed forces, Misri said Islamabad’s thinking that India would attack its own cities is the kind of “deranged fantasy” that only the Pakistani state can come up with.
The Border Security Force, meanwhile, said it foiled an infiltration bid from across the Indo-Pak international border in Jammu, killing at least seven terrorists and destroying a Rangers post.
Three more people were killed after Pakistani troops resorted to heavy shelling in areas near the line of control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting with the top defence establishment to take stock of the security situation.
Modi met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, national security advisor Ajit Doval, and the three service chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff to strategise over the future course of action.
Earlier in the day, he held interactions with veterans, including former chiefs of the three services, taking their feedback on the current situation.
At a media briefing, Misri slammed Pakistan’s provocative and escalatory actions to try and target Indian cities and civilian infrastructure using drones last night.
Most drones were downed using kinetic and non-kinetic means, said Col Sofiya Qureshi of the Army and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force (IAF) at the briefing.
The remarks came amid intensified military action between India and Pakistan following India’s strike on nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under ‘Operation Sindoor’ early Wednesday in a powerful retaliation to the Pahalgam massacre on April 22. Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed in the carnage.
The two military officials said Pakistan used its civilian airliners as a “shield” as it did not close its civil airspace during its attempts to attack Indian installations with drones and missiles on May 7, knowing fully well that the strikes would elicit a swift response from India.
“On the night of May 8-9, Pakistan carried out large-scale violations of Indian airspace, attempting to target military infrastructure with 300-400 drones across 36 locations from Leh to Sir Creek,” said Singh.
“Indian forces neutralised many drones using kinetic and non-kinetic means. An armed UAV strike on Bhatinda was also thwarted,” she said.
India responded by launching drone strikes on four Pakistani air defence sites, destroying a radar, the Wing Commander added.
Wing Commander Singh said the “possible” purpose of the large-scale Pakistani intrusions were to test the air defence systems and gather intelligence.
“Forensic examination of the drone debris is being undertaken. Preliminary reports suggest them to be Asisguard Songar drone of Turkey,” she said.
“Pakistan escalated with artillery and drone attacks across the line of control, causing casualties. Alarmingly, Pakistan kept its civil airspace open during the assault, endangering civilian flights,” she said.
In response to the Pakistani attack, Indian military launched armed drones launched at four air defence sites in Pakistan.
“One of the drones was able to destroy an air defence radar,” Wing Commander Singh said.
She said Pakistan also carried out artillery shelling across the LoC using heavy calibre artillery guns and armed drones at Kandhan, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, Rajouri, Akur and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir area which resulted in some losses and injuries to Indian Army personnel.
“The Pakistan Army also suffered major losses in Indian retaliatory firing.
“Additionally, Pakistan’s irresponsible behaviour again came to the fore as Pakistan did not close its civil airspace despite it launching a failed unprovoked drone and missile attack on May 7,” said Col Qureshi.
The official also showed screenshots of flight movement on the website flightradar24.
“In the high air defence alert situation in the Punjab sector, the airspace on the Indian side is absolutely devoid of civil air traffic due to our declared closure. However, there are civil airlines flying the air route between Karachi and Lahore,” she said.
The IAF demonstrated considerable restraint in its response, thus ensuring safety of international flights, she added.
India deployed Barak-8 missiles, S-400 Triumph air defence systems, Akash surface-to-air missiles and indigenously developed anti-drone equipment in thwarting Pakistan’s attempts to hit 15 Indian cities on Wednesday night, official sources said.
As states in northern and western India kept a tight vigil in the wake of the military conflict with Pakistan, Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the prevailing situation along India’s border with Pakistan and airports in the country.
In a communication to the chief secretaries of all states and Union territories, Director General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards Vivek Srivastava said preparing the civil administration and adopting precautionary measures against hostile attacks in the states and UTs are governed by the Civil Defence Act and Rules, 1968
The Centre also empowered the Army chief to call out “every officer and every enrolled person” of the Territorial Army to provide for essential guard or to be embodied to support or supplement the regular Army.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a phone conversation with his British counterpart David Lammy and conveyed to him that there must be “zero-tolerance” to terrorism.
