Indian Forces Show Considerable Restrain While Pakistan Violated Indian Airspace

In a significant escalation along the India-Pakistan border, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi reported that on the night of May 7 and 8, the Pakistani army repeatedly violated Indian airspace across the western border, with the intent of targeting military infrastructure. Heavy-caliber weapons were also fired along the Line of Control (LoC), marking a serious breach of ceasefire norms.

According to Colonel Qureshi, between 300 to 400 drones were deployed by Pakistan in an attempt to infiltrate at 36 different locations. Indian armed forces swiftly responded, successfully neutralising many of these drones using both kinetic and non-kinetic countermeasures. Preliminary forensic analysis of the drone wreckage indicates that many were Turkish-origin Asisguard Songar models. The large-scale intrusions are believed to have been aimed at testing India's air defence systems and gathering sensitive intelligence.

Later that night, Pakistan launched an armed UAV to target the Bathinda military installation, which was detected and neutralised by Indian defences. In response to these provocative actions, India launched armed drones targeting four Pakistani air defence sites. One of these drones reportedly succeeded in disabling a Pakistani air defence radar system.

Pakistan also intensified its offensive by shelling multiple locations along the LoC using heavy artillery and armed drones. Affected areas included Tangdhar, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, Rajouri, Akhnoor, and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir. The attacks resulted in casualties and injuries to Indian Army personnel. Pakistani forces too are believed to have sustained significant losses in the retaliatory fire by the Indian Army.

Adding to the concern, Pakistan did not close its civilian airspace despite launching an unprovoked drone and missile attack around 8:30 PM on May 7. This move has raised serious safety concerns for unsuspecting civil airliners, including international flights, flying near the International Border (IB) between India and Pakistan.

A screenshot from the aviation tracking platform FlightRadar24, taken during the high-alert situation over Punjab, reveals that while Indian airspace was completely devoid of civil air traffic due to a declared closure, Pakistani airspace remained active with civilian aircraft. One such aircraft, an Airbus A320, was observed flying from Duman at 15:70 hours and landing in Lahore at 21:10 hours the same night.

Experts have warned that Pakistan's use of civilian airliners as potential shields during military operations is highly irresponsible and endangers lives. In stark contrast, the Indian Air Force exercised significant restraint in its response, thereby ensuring the safety of international civil carriers.

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