The Indian Armed Forces had targeted air defence radars and installations in Pakistan early Thursday morning in response to earlier attacks by Pakistan that resulted in the deaths of 16 Indian civilians, including three women and five children.
Published May 08, 2025 | 10:21 PM ⚊ Updated May 08, 2025 | 11:13 PM
The primary target appeared to be the Jammu airport, with missiles fired at the airport successfully intercepted.
Synopsis: A Pakistani drone attack targeting Jammu airport was successfully intercepted on Thursday evening, as cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan escalated. Hours after India launched retaliatory strikes against militant sites in Pakistan, the latter has launched a barrage of missiles, artillery shells and drone attacks against targets in multiple border states.
Pakistan launched a barrage of missiles, artillery shells and drones attacks across targets in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan late in the evening of Thursday, 8 May.
The Headquarters of Integrated Defence Staff stated that military stations in Jammu, Pathankot, and Udhampur were targeted by Pakistan using missiles and drones.
It added that no casualties were reported and that the threat was neutralised by the Indian Armed Forces in accordance with standard operating procedures, using both kinetic and non-kinetic means.
The primary target appeared to be the Jammu airport, with missiles fired at the airport successfully intercepted, sources confirmed, as cross-border hostilities between India and Pakistan intensified.
Two Pakistani drones were also reportedly shot down near Jammu University. Heavy artillery fire has been reported in the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, where sources indicate heightened activity.
Meanwhile, authorities have imposed a total blackout across Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Samba, Arnia, RS Pura, Amritsar and Jammu city and nearby regions in a move to ensure civilian safety.
The IPL match scheduled to be held in Dharamshala has been called off.
The strikes from Pakistan come after India launched what it described as a retaliatory military operation. The Indian Armed Forces had targeted air defence radars and installations in Pakistan early Thursday morning in response to earlier attacks that resulted in the deaths of 16 Indian civilians, including three women and five children.
It all started with the dastardly terror attack on predominantly Hindu tourists at Pahalgam in Kashmir in April. Terrorists shot down 26 unarmed tourists in the massacre.
In response, Indian forces carried out targeted strikes under Operation Sindoor against nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK). The Indian government described the strikes as “focused, measured and non-escalatory”, noting that “Pakistani military establishments had not been targeted.”
While both countries have exchanged fire before, the scale and coordination of the attacks over the past 40 hours mark a serious escalation.
How the situation will unfold remains uncertain, but both nations are under increasing international pressure to de-escalate.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
