Pakistan launched a major missile and drone attack on the night of May 8-9, targeting 15 Indian cities, including Awantipora, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bhuj, and others, in retaliation for India’s Operation Sindoor strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. India’s advanced S-400 ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ air defence system was rapidly activated, intercepting and destroying all incoming Pakistani drones and missiles, with debris recovered across multiple locations as evidence. No significant damage or casualties were reported in India.
India shot down 4 Pakistan Air Force JF-17and F 16 fighter jets, captured two Pak pilots. Pakistan made attempts to launch attacks inside India, which were foiled by India’s defence systems. According to reports, Pakistan has lost two other fighter jets as it attempted to intrude into India’s airspace, including one JF-17 and an F-16. Pakistan’s attempts to hit various key Indian installations, including military stations at Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur with drones and missiles were foiled, the defence ministry said. The Navy’s aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, stationed in the Arabian Sea, has reportedly launched missile strikes on key Pakistani naval bases, causing major destruction and panic along Pakistan’s coastline.
The Balochistan Liberation Army has claimed that its fighters have taken control of Quetta, pushing the Pakistani army out of Balochistan. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s P.M was shifted to a safe place after Islamabad was hit by Indian missiles. India also attacked Lahore, Peshwar, Karachi and Sialkot, inflicting huge losses.
While the global powers are unlikely to become directly involved in the conflict, experts pointed to deepening security ties between the US and India on one side and China and Pakistan on the other as a sign that they are expected to offer various forms of support to their respective partners. The officials said that India briefed US National Security Adviser and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “at length” about the context and intelligence information behind the strikes just hours after they occurred, stressing that any external mediation or investigation would be futile.
Russia on expressed concern over the ‘aggravation of military confrontation’ between India and Pakistan. Meanwhile, Turkey condemned India’s strikes on terror camps in Pakistan, saying that it increases the ‘risk of an all-out war.’ Azerbaijan also decried the strikes conducted by Indian armed forces on nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. The European Union has released a statement on the surging conflict between India and Pakistan post the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. “Every state has the duty and the right lawfully to protect its citizens from acts of terror”, the statement by EU.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will have a high-level meeting with three service chiefs and CDS today.
