Days after the Indo-Pak tensions de-escalated upon reaching a ceasefire agreement after four-day-long border hostilities, in a powerful display of the armed forces' operational preparedness, India Army on Monday demonstrated the extensive air defence mechanism.
Monday's demonstration showcased indigenous AKASH missile system and L-70 Air Defence Guns which successfully intercepted Pakistani missile and drone attacks, saving several cities in Punjab, especially the Golden Temple from destruction.
Quoting Major General Kartik C Seshadri, GOC, 15 Infantry Division, The Times of India (TOI) reported, "Knowing that Pak Army does not have any legitimate targets, we anticipated that they would target Indian military installations, civilian targets, including religious places. Of these, Golden Temple appeared to be the most prominent."
Further sharing details of Pakistan's massive air assault on May 8, Seshadri said, "We were fully prepared since we had anticipated this."
"Our braveheart and alert army air defence gunners thwarted Pakistan Army's nefarious designs and shot down all drones and missiles targeted at the Golden Temple. Thus, not allowing even a scratch to come on our holy Golden Temple," he added, as per TOI.
The Indo-Pak escalation began in view of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 which claimed the lives of 26 innocent people. Responding to the attack, India on May 7 launched Operation Sindoor targeting major terrorist infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
In retaliation, Pakistan further escalated the tension and launched numerous missile and drone attacks targeting border areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, which were thwarted by India's extensive air defence systems.
Nine targets were hit. Of the nine targets, seven were exclusively destroyed by the Indian Army. Of these targets, the Muridke, which is in proximity to Lahore, houses the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba headquarters as also the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) headquarters at Bahawalpur, which were struck with absolute precision.
Soon after the strikes, we issued a statement clarifying that we intentionally did not target any Pakistani military or civilian infrastructure," he said.
