New Delhi: Except for an outright declaration of war, hostilities between India and Pakistan have taken a significant turn. In the wake of drone and missile attacks by Pakistan in the Jammu region of Jammu & Kashmir and several places in Rajasthan, India has launched attacks on Pakistan's Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Lahore. This signals the start of Operation Sindoor 2.0 on the part of India.
Pakistan's Karachi port has been badly hit. The Indian Navy's aircraft carrier INS Vikrant attacked and destroyed the seaport.
Earlier, India brought down Pakistan's fighter aircraft, two J-17s and one F-16. One Pakistani pilot was captured alive in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer. Drones and missiles targeting Jammu, Akhnoor, Pathankot, Bhatinda and several places in Rajasthan, including Satwari, Samba, RS Pura, Arnia and Jaisalmer, were all shot down by air defence units, and no major damage was reported.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday night held discussions with the Director Generals of all border guarding forces to review the current security situation along India's borders.
The meeting aimed at assessing preparedness and operational readiness in light of recent developments as Pakistan launched a significant missile and drone attack targeting India's Jammu region and Rajasthan, including Satwari, Samba, RS Pura, Arnia and Jaisalmer. However, all missiles were intercepted and blocked by air defence units, and no major damage was reported.
In a separate interaction, Shah also spoke with the Director General of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to evaluate airport security measures across the country.
The review comes amid heightened vigilance at key infrastructure points.
Officials said the Home Minister emphasized the importance of maintaining high alertness of troops.
In a specific talk with the Border Security Force DG, the Home Minister took stock of the situation in the border areas and the preparedness of the border guarding force mandated to guard the 3,323 km India-Pakistan border.
Sources said Shah was briefed on ground-level deployments, the use of surveillance technology, and recent trends in border incursions. He emphasized the importance of maintaining high operational alertness and ensuring coordination among different agencies considering the attack from Pakistan targeting civilians in India.
Additional explosions were reported in Jammu and Jaisalmer, prompting air-raid sirens and civilian evacuations in border areas.
This attack followed India's "Operation Sindoor" on May 7, wherein Indian forces conducted missile strikes on nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
India claimed these strikes targeted terrorist infrastructure linked to groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, in retaliation for an April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 28 civilians.
Earlier, Army officer Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Air Force Wing Commander Vyomika Singh confirmed that cities and towns such as Awantipora, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj were on the target list. However, India's integrated counter-UAS grid and robust air defence systems successfully neutralised all threats. Debris recovered from various locations confirmed that the drones and missiles originated from Pakistani territory.
In a swift retaliatory strike, Indian armed forces targeted and destroyed several Pakistani air defence systems, including a key installation in Lahore. Meanwhile, Pakistan's military also initiated unprovoked shelling in the Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, and Rajouri sectors of Jammu & Kashmir, using heavy artillery and mortars. This aggression led to the tragic deaths of 16 civilians, including five children and three women. The Indian Army responded firmly and proportionately.
Earlier, India had carried out precision airstrikes, under Operation Sindoor, on nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, reportedly eliminating around 100 militants. (IANS)
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