New Delhi: India on Friday said Pakistan launched between 300 and 400 Turkish drones across 36 locations from Leh to Sir Creek in its failed attempt to target Indian military installations on Thursday night, and also accused that country of using its civilian planes as a “shield” for its aerial attacks, endangering the flights.
As Pakistan launched multiple drone attacks again on Friday night, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Pakistan’s strike on places of worship and its “preposterous” attempts to blame Indian armed forces is reflective of Islamabad’s evil design and efforts to deceive and mislead the world.
Citing Pakistan’s attack on a gurdwara in Amritsar and its subsequent attempt to blame it on Indian armed forces, Misri said Islamabad’s thinking that India would attack its cities is the kind of “deranged fantasy” that only the Pakistani state can come up with.
There were widespread aerial intrusions as well. “Along the International Border and Line of Control, drone intrusions were attempted from Leh to Sir Creek at thirty-six locations with approximately three hundred to four hundred drones and non-kinetic means.”
The government said that “the possible purpose of these large-scale aerial intrusions was to test the (air defence) AD systems and gather intelligence.”
The situation escalated later in the night when “an armed UAV of Pakistan attempted to target Bathinda military station which was detected and neutralised.”
India responded with force to Pakistan’s drone attack. “In response to the Pakistani attack, armed drones were launched at four air defence sites in Pakistan. One of the drones was able to destroy an AD radar,” the government said.
The government highlighted that cross-border aggression wasn’t limited to drones. “Pakistan also carried out artillery shelling across the Line of Control using heavy caliber artillery guns and armed drones at Sunder, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, Rajouri, Akhnoor and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir area, which resulted in some losses and injuries to Indian Army personnel.”
“Pakistan Army also suffered major losses in Indian retaliatory fire,” the official said during a press briefing by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Col Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.
