New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence said today that Indian Armed Forces conducted targeted strikes on Pakistani air defence systems following an attempted escalation by Pakistan on the night of May 7–8.
The official statement from the Ministry termed India’s response under “Operation Sindoor” as focused, measured and non-escalatory.
According to the Defence Ministry, Pakistan launched a series of drone and missile attacks targeting multiple military locations across Northern and Western India, including cities such as Srinagar, Jammu, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, and Bhuj. However, Indian Integrated Counter-UAS and Air Defence systems successfully neutralized these attacks, with debris recovered from several sites confirming Pakistani involvement.
In retaliation, Indian forces this morning struck Pakistani air defence radars and systems, with confirmed hits on several installations. It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised,” the MoD said in its statement.
Meanwhile, the Line of Control (LoC) has seen intensified shelling from Pakistan, with heavy mortar and artillery fire reported in the Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, and Rajouri sectors of Jammu and Kashmir. The firing resulted in the death of sixteen civilians, including women and children, said the Ministry of Defence.
Calling the firing “unprovoked,” the Defence Ministry said India was compelled to respond to halt further loss of civilian lives and damage to infrastructure. It reiterated that while India remains committed to non-escalation, any further targeting of military assets on Indian soil will invite a suitable response.
Pakistan’s military on Thursday said it had shot down 12 Israeli-made Harop drones launched by India at multiple locations overnight, calling it yet another act of “blatant aggression” as cross-border hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbours intensify, international media reported.
Military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, in a televised statement from Rawalpindi, said the drones were intercepted in cities including Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Attock, Ghotki, Gujranwala, and Chakwal. He added that Pakistan’s armed forces remain on “high alert” as the drone campaign from India continues.
“Last night, that is the night of 7th and 8th May, India has undertaken yet another blatant military act of aggression against Pakistan by sending Harop drones at multiple locations,” Chaudhry said as per various news organisations telecating his interview. “Pakistan Armed Forces… have so far neutralised 12 Harop drones.”
Chaudhry said that one drone partially struck a military target near Lahore, injuring four army personnel and damaging equipment. Separately, a civilian was killed when a drone crashed in Sarfaraz Leghari village in the Ghotki district of Sindh, police was quoted as saying in Arab News report.
Islamabad claimed to have downed five Indian fighter jets and a combat drone, though New Delhi has not officially commented on either the drone losses or the downing of its aircraft as of Thursday evening.
