- Four Army personnel injured as one UAV partially struck a military target in Lahore: DG ISPR
- Remotely-piloted aircraft neutralised with both electronic countermeasures, conventional weaponry
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s armed forces shot down as many as 29 Israeli-made Harop drones flown by India over multiple cities of the country, the military said on Thursday.
Updating the media on the situation, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt-Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that the drones were neutralised in Lahore, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Bahawalpur, Mianwali, Karachi, Chor, Miano and Attock. He pointed out that one of the UAV partially struck a military target near Lahore which caused a minimal damage to equipment.
“Four Pakistan Army personnel were injured in a drone attack in Lahore, while one civilian was martyred in Miano, Sindh,” the military spokesperson said, terming the attempts as a continued pattern of aggression and reaffirming that Pakistan’s forces remain on high alert to defend the country’s airspace and territorial integrity.
The remotely-piloted aircraft were neutralised using both electronic countermeasures (soft-kill techniques) and conventional weaponry (hard-kill systems) after they were detected over several cities across Pakistan, the military’s media wing said in a statement.
Lt-Gen Chaudhry described the drone incursions as a “desperate and panicked response” by India after Pakistan’s armed forces shot down its five jets – including three prized Rafale aircraft – and destroyed several Indian military posts in retaliation for the brazen missile attacks on civilian infrastructures in multiple cities of Pakistan on the night between May 6 and 7.
The DG ISPR stated that debris from the Israeli-origin drones is being recovered from various locations, adding that New Delhi has suffered substantial losses along the Line of Control (LoC) since its military misadventure. “The Pakistan Armed Forces are responding decisively to all hostile actions and continue to thwart enemy intentions,” he added.
Meanwhile Information Minister Ataullah Tarar told lawmakers in the National Assembly on Thursday that the Indian drones are a “war trophies” of Pakistan’s armed forces which will “be kept in museums”. “We will show them to our children and tell them that when India failed with its jets, it used drones,” he said in a passionate speech.
Referring to the downing of five of Indian jets by PAF, Lt-Gen Chaudhry said that India “apparently lost the plot” and suffered heavy casualties along the LoC. “The international community can clearly witness the dangerous trajectory India is following through these provocative military actions, which are threatening not just regional stability but also broader global security”, the DG ISPR emphasized.
Simmering tensions between Pakistan and India came to a boil when India unleashed a barrage of beyond visual range (BVR) missiles at civilian infrastructures in several cities of Pakistan in a reckless violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, triggering a befitting response from Pakistan’s armed forces in which Delhi lost its air force assets.
Panic over Pakistan’s possible retaliation
Meanwhile, in view of possible retaliation by Pakistan in response to Indian aggression, which killed civilians and destroyed mosques, the Indian government urged several sensitive states from the west to the east to brace for the response.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a security review meeting via video conferencing on Wednesday afternoon with the Lieutenant Governor of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and West Bengal, and a representative from the Sikkim government.
“All states should make their preparations as per the guidelines issued for the mock drill. Arrangements should be made for smooth operation of essential services like hospitals, fire brigade etc. and uninterrupted supply of essential goods should be ensured,” said Indian Home Minister Shah in a statement.
He also asked the states to keep disaster response forces, civil defence, Home Guards and NCC on alert.
