First ‘peaceful night’ along J&K, border areas in days, says Army

SRINAGAR: Following the chaos and all the skirmishes that had kept the areas along the northern and western International Borders (IB) up during the night for the past few days, the region has largely remained peaceful during the intervening night of May 11 and May 12, the Army stated.

According to the Army, the region of Jammu and Kashmir and other areas along the IB were calm, and no incidents of the violation of the cessation of hostilities were reported.

The army noted that this marked the first calm night in recent days following the cross-border firing, heavy artillery shelling and drone attacks by Pakistan in response to India’s Operation Sindoor, launched in retaliation for the April 22 terror attacks, which dismantled major terror sites in Pakistan and in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

“The night remained largely peaceful in Jammu and Kashmir and other areas along the international border. No incident has been reported, marking the first calm night in recent days,” the Indian Army stated.

For the past few days, the border regions in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat were witnessing chaotic and sleepless nights due to Pakistan’s heavy shelling and attempted drone attacks, which were aimed at disrupting peace along the region.

In retaliation for these attacks, the Indian Armed Forces confirmed the destruction of 11 air bases inside Pakistan and inflicted significant damage on their military capabilities.

At a joint press conference on Sunday, Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai (Director General Military Operations), Vice Admiral A N Pramod (Director General Naval Operations), and Air Marshal A K Bharti (Director General Air Operations) jointly revealed the major outcomes of India’s Operation Sindoor. They stated that over 100 terrorists were eliminated in calibrated strikes during the May 7 operation.

Air Marshal AK Bharti emphasised the country’s military capabilities, stating that India can target every system at Pakistan’s bases. He revealed that Pakistan had launched a massive drone attack on Indian cities along the western border from Srinagar to Naliya on the night of May 8 and May 9, starting at 22:30 hours.

According to the Air Marshal, Indian air defence forces were prepared and successfully countered the drone attacks, preventing any damage to intended targets.

“We have the capability to target every system at these (Pak) bases and more. However, it was only a measured response to instil good wisdom in our adversary to refrain from further escalation. IAF’s response was directed only at military installations, avoiding civilians and collateral damage,” he said.

“A decision was taken to strike where it would hurt, and towards that, in a swift, coordinated, calibrated attack, we struck its Air bases, command centres, military infrastructure, air defence systems across the entire Western Front. The bases we struck include Chaklala, Rafiq, Rahim Yar Khan, sending a clear message that aggression will not be tolerated. This was followed by strikes at Sargodha, Bhulari, and Jacobabad,” he added.

When asked about the casualties from Pakistan’s side, the Air Marshal said, “Our aim was not to inflict casualties, but in case there have been, it is for them to count. Our job is to hit the target, not to count the body bags.”

Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Ghai said that more than 100 terrorists, including those involved in the 1999 Indian Airlines flight (IC-814) hijacking, and the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, were eliminated in the precision strikes carried out by the armed forces in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor on May 7. (ANI)