On the night of May 7 and 8, Pakistan significantly escalated tensions along India’s western border by carrying out multiple airspace violations and drone intrusions targeting Indian military infrastructure.
During a Friday press briefing, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi stated that approximately 300 to 400 drones were deployed across 36 locations. Indian forces successfully intercepted and shot down several of these drones using both kinetic and non-kinetic methods. Initial investigations of the drone wreckage suggest they were Turkish-made Asisguard Songar models. Colonel Qureshi emphasized that the purpose of these large-scale aerial intrusions appeared to be to test India’s air defense systems and gather intelligence. She also reported that the Pakistani army fired heavy-calibre weapons along the Line of Control (LoC).
Wing Commander Vyomika Singh highlighted Pakistan’s irresponsible actions, noting that despite launching an unprovoked drone and missile attack on May 7 at 8:30 PM, Pakistan did not close its civil airspace. She accused Pakistan of using a civil airliner as a shield, fully aware that their attack would provoke a swift Indian air defense response, thereby endangering unsuspecting civil airliners, including international flights near the India-Pakistan International Border (IB). Wing Commander Singh presented FlightRadar24 data showing the absence of civil air traffic on the Indian side due to a declared closure, while civil airlines continued to fly between Karachi and Lahore. She stated that the Indian Air Force demonstrated considerable restraint to ensure the safety of international civil carriers.
In response to the Pakistani attack, Wing Commander Singh confirmed that armed drones were launched at four air defense sites within Pakistan, with one drone successfully destroying an air defense radar in Lahore. She also reported that Pakistan carried out artillery shelling across the LoC using heavy-calibre artillery guns and armed drones, resulting in some losses and injuries to Indian army personnel, while the Pakistan army also suffered major losses due to Indian retaliatory fire.
Defence sources also revealed that Pakistan targeted Jammu on Thursday using Hamas-style missiles in an attack resembling operations seen in Israel, where multiple low-cost rockets are used to target cities.
Pakistan’s attempted retaliation followed India’s Operation Sindoor on Wednesday, in which Indian armed forces targeted nine terror infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as a direct response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Earlier on Thursday, sources had indicated that the Indian Army shot down over 50 Pakistani drones during a large-scale counter-drone operation along the LoC and International Borders (IB). The Indian Armed Forces also successfully neutralized Pakistan’s attempts at a large-scale drone and missile attack on multiple Indian military installations across Northern and Western India during the night of May 7-8, including the neutralization of an Air Defence system at Lahore.
