Pakistan is using civil airlines as shield: Wing Commander Vyomika Singh

NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force Wing Commander Vyomika Singh exposed Pakistan’s airspace tactics, saying that Islamabad deliberately kept its civil airspace open after launching a “failed unprovoked drone” and missile attack on Wednesday, effectively using civil airliners as shields.

Adressing the special briefing on Operation Sindoor on Friday, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said, “Pakistan did not close its civil airspace despite it launching a failed unprovoked drone and missile attack on 7 May at 08:30 hours in the evening. Pakistan is using civil airliner as a shield, knowing fully well that its attack on India would elicit a swift air defence response.”

#WATCH | Delhi: Wing Commander Vyomika Singh says, “…Pakistan did not close its civil airspace despite it launching a failed unprovoked drone and missile attack on 7 May at 08:30 hours in the evening. Pakistan is using civil airliner as a shield, knowing fully well that its… pic.twitter.com/VaTB61Wqr6

— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2025

She further emphasised that this decision endangered unsuspecting civil airliners, including international flights operating near the India-Pakistan border. “This is not safe for unsuspecting civil airliners including the international flights which were flying near IB between India and Pakistan”, she said.

During the briefing the Wing Commander showed the data of the application flight radar 24 during a high air defence alert situation in the Punjab sector. Singh pointed out that while India’s airspace was closed due to the heightened alert, Pakistan allowed civil airlines to continue flying, including those on the Karachi-Lahore route.

“As you have seen, the airspace on the Indian side is absolutely devoid of civil air traffic due to our declared closure. However, there are civil airlines flying the air route between Karachi and Lahore…Indian Air force demonstrated considerable restraint in its response thus ensuring safety of international civil carriers,” she said.

Further, she also highlighted that, 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 Air Defence radar on Thursday.

Citing Pakistan’s attack on Indian Army on the night of May 7 and 8, she stated, “Pakistan also carried out artillery shelling across the line of control using heavy-calibre artillery guns and armed drones… which resulted in some losses and injuries to Indian army personnel. Pakistan army also suffered major losses in Indian retaliatory fire.”

Meawhile, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi revealed that, in a major escalation along India’s western front, the Pakistani army carried out multiple airspace violations and drone intrusions on the night of May 7 and 8, targeting Indian military infrastructure.

Colonel Sofiya Qureshi said during the press briefing, “On the night of May 7 and 8, the Pakistani army violated Indian airspace several times over the entire western border to target military infrastructure. Not only this, the Pakistani army also fired heavy-calibre weapons along the Line of Control. Around 300 to 400 drones were used to attempt infiltration at 36 locations.”

She added, “The Indian armed forces shot down many of these drones using kinetic and non-kinetic means. The possible purpose of such large-scale aerial intrusions was to test air defence systems and collect intelligence. Forensic investigation of the wreckage of the drones is being done. Initial reports suggest that they are Turkish Asisguard Songar drones…”

Escalating its tensions with India, Pakistan targeted Jammu using Hamas-style missiles to target multiple areas on Thursday. The attack resembled a Hamas-style operation in Israel, where multiple cheap rockets were used to target cities.

Pakistan’s attempted retaliation came in the wake of India’s Operation Sindoor, where the Indian armed forces targeted nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday. The operation was a direct response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

On Thursday, the Indian Army had shot down more than 50 Pakistani drones during a large-scale counter-drone operation along the LoC and International Borders (IB). The Indian Armed Forces also successfully neutralised Pakistan military’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, and an Air Defence system at Lahore was neutralised. (ANI)