Rajnath reviews security situation and operational preparedness with CDS, three service chiefs
NEW DELHI, MAY 9 : Amid the exchange of fire and drone attacks along the northern and western borders, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation and the operational preparedness of the Indian Armed Forces.
The meeting was attended by the top echelon of the Services and the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) and the Department of Defence (DoD), including Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.
On Thursday, Pakistan carried out drone and missile attacks at multiple locations along the western border. Artillery shelling was also reported along the Line of Control (LoC). The Indian Armed Forces responded with counter-attacks and gave a befitting reply, officials said.
India carried out ‘Operation Sindoor’ on Wednesday — a series of precession strikes targeting nine terrorist camps and launch pads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the 22 April Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 26 civilians were killed. The operation was carried out jointly by the Indian Army and the Air Force operation.
Following the operation, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said, “Our actions have been focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selecting targets and methods of execution.”
The selection of targets was based on credible intelligence, an assessment of the facilities’ role in perpetrating terror activities, and the need to avoid civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh holds a meeting with CDS Gen. Anil Chauhan, Army Chief Gen. Upendra Dwivedi, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi and IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, in New Delhi, Friday, May 9, 2025.
Uneasy calm in J&K as India-Pakistan tensions escalate, border residents move to safer places
Following Operation Sindoor, India thwarted Pakistan’s attempt to strike multiple military targets in northern and western India using drones and missiles on the intervening nights of Wednesday and Thursday.
These included strikes targeting Awantipora, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj. These attacks were neutralised by the Integrated Counter-UAS Grid and Air Defence systems.
Later, on Thursday morning, the Indian Armed Forces targeted air defence radars and systems at multiple locations in Pakistan. “Indian response has been in the same domain with same intensity as Pakistan’s,” said the MoD.
“It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised,” the ministry added.
Subsequently, Pakistan increased the intensity of its unprovoked firing across the LoC using mortars and heavy-calibre artillery in areas including Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, and Rajouri sectors in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 16 civilians, including women and children have been killed under Pakistani firing.
India was compelled to respond in kind to bring the mortar and artillery fire from Pakistan to a halt. The Indian Armed Forces reiterated their commitment to non-escalation, provided it is reciprocated by the Pakistani military, the MoD said.
-PTI
