The North News
New Delhi, May 10
India launched a swift and highly coordinated retaliatory strike on multiple Pakistani military installations following what it described as a deliberate assault by Pakistan on Indian air bases. Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, briefing reporters in New Delhi, said Indian armed forces responded with “quick and well-planned retaliatory action,” targeting strategic assets such as command and control centres, radar stations, arms depots and technical installations. The strikes were carried out using precision-guided munitions and fighter jets.
“The Indian response was carefully executed to ensure minimum collateral damage and civilian losses,” Qureshi added. Among the sites struck were military bases in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, and Chunian. Radar infrastructure in Pasrur and an aviation base in Sialkot were also targeted. The strikes, according to officials, were restricted to military objectives and avoided residential or civilian zones.
“Pakistan of misusing international air corridors, alleging that its military activities were deliberately cloaked under the cover of civilian aircraft departing from Lahore,” she said.
“It is a matter of concern that Pakistan, taking advantage of commercial aviation routes, sought to obscure its military movements,” she said. “Such tactics forced the Indian air defence system to exercise extreme restraint and precision in order to avoid endangering civilian aircraft.”
At a press briefing in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri defended India’s actions, stating: “It is Pakistani actions that have constituted provocation and escalation. In response, India has defended and reacted in a responsible and measured fashion.”
The cross-border exchanges have intensified over the past 24 hours. Colonel Sofiya Qureshi said that Pakistan launched coordinated attacks on 26 sites across the western front, from Srinagar to Chhalliya. The strikes included drone assaults, long-range missiles, and loitering munitions targeting Indian military installations and infrastructure.
Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, speaking at the same briefing, confirmed that Pakistani fighter jets attempted incursions across Indian airspace. “India neutralised many threats, but Pakistan damaged equipment and personnel at multiple air force bases, including Udhampur, Bhuj, Pathankot, and Bathinda,” she said. “They even targeted schools and hospitals with high-speed missiles at 1.40am.”
Pakistan has launched a misinformation campaign, according to Indian officials, claiming damage to key Indian defence assets like the S-400 air defence system and airbases at Surat and Sirsa. “These claims are baseless and unequivocally rejected,” said Wing Commander Singh.
Besides it, the Army also destroyed a terrorist launch pad in Looni, a village in Pakistan’s Sialkot district, opposite the Akhnoor sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Intelligence reports suggest increased Pakistani troop movements towards forward positions, raising concerns of a potential wider conflict.
“Our forces are in a high state of operational readiness,” said Singh, “and all hostile actions have been proportionately responded to. The commitment to avoid escalation remains, provided Pakistan does the same.”
