The Pakistan Army attempted to target Golden Temple in Amritsar with long-range missiles and drones on the night of May 7-8 after Indian forces took down terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor, but the enemy failed to punch through India’s resilient air defence (AD) shield, a senior army officer said on Monday.
It was a prime target for the Pakistan Army, said Major General Kartik C Seshadri, who’s commanding an infantry division in Amritsar.
“Knowing that the Pakistan Army does not have any legitimate targets, we anticipated it will target Indian military installations and civilian areas including religious places. Of these, Golden Temple appeared to be the most prominent (target). We also received credible intelligence that it was a prime target, which we had brainstormed earlier,” he told news agency ANI.
Operation Sindoor, which began in the early hours of May 7, was New Delhi’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
Modern AD assets were swiftly mobilised to provide a robust AD umbrella to the Sikh shrine, he said.
“In the hours of darkness, Pakistan carried out a massive air assault with drones and long-range missiles. We were fully prepared since we had anticipated this. Our 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 our holy Golden Temple,” Seshadri added.
Operation Sindoor triggered four days of strikes and counterstrikes with drones, missiles and long-range weapons before the two sides reached an understanding on stopping all military action on May 10.
Between the launch of the operation and the ceasefire, Indian forces bombed nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK, killing at least 100 terrorists, and the Indian Air Force struck targets at 13 Pakistani airbases and military installations.
By 8.30pm on May 7, Islamabad launched aerial attacks using drones and missiles at multiple towns and cities, including Awantipora, Srinagar, Jammu, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Pathankot, Phalodi, Uttarlai, Nal and Bhuj. India’s AD systems fended off all the attacks.
India’s multi-layered AD grid was impregnable, officials said.
It punctured multiple waves of Pakistani attacks on Indian military installations, airbases and civilian areas by guaranteeing prompt detection and targeting of the incoming threats. India’s AD systems, combining the assets of the IAF, army, and navy, performed with exceptional synergy, the information and broadcasting ministry said last week.
India’s AD grid operated with multiple weapons across four levels, depending on the distance of the incoming target. The weapons that formed part of the grid included the S-400 system, medium-range surface to air missile system (Barak 8), the Pechora air defence system, Spyder quick-reaction missiles, and upgraded L-70 and Zu-23-2B guns.
The nine terror camps hit by the Indian forces with a mix of missiles and smart munitions included Markaz Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, Markaz Taiba near Muridke, Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot, Sawai Nala and Syed Na Bilal in Muzaffarabad, Gulpur and Abbas in Kotli, Barnala in Bhimber, and Sarjal.
The IAF struck targets in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunian, Pasrur, Sialkot, Skardu, Sargodha, Jacobabad, Bholari and Malir Cantt in Karachi.
