‘Committed to Non-Escalation, But…’: Why India Targeted Pakistan’s Key Air Defence System

‘Committed to Non-Escalation, But…’: One day after Operation Sindoor hit terror targets inside Pakistan, the Indian Air Force hit Pakistan Air Defence targets early on Thursday morning in retaliation against a wave of drone and missile attacks launched by Pakistan the previous night against Indian military installations.

The Ministry of Defence, Government of India, releasing a detailed statement on the fresh strikes, reaffirmed the commitment of the Indian government to a non-escalatory posture.

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The press release had said that the fresh strikes were “proportionate response made by India to Pakistan’s bid to escalate,” and that they were carried out after Pakistan attempted to target multiple military targets across northern and western India, including such important areas as Srinagar, Jammu, Amritsar, and Bhuj.

These attempted attacks, using drones and missiles, were intercepted and neutralised by India’s air defence system, though their debris fell in various areas — thus, confirming the degree of threat, the Government of India stated.

“On the night of 07-08 May 2025, Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, using drones and missiles. These were neutralised by the Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems. The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations that prove the Pakistani attacks,” the press release read.

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“Today morning Indian Armed Forces targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan. Indian response has been in the same domain with same intensity as Pakistan. It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised. Pakistan has increased the intensity of its unprovoked firing across the Line of Control using Mortars and heavy calibre Artillery in areas in Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar and Rajouri sectors in Jammu and Kashmir,” it added.

The release mentioned that 16 innocent lives have been lost, including three women and five children, due to Pakistani firing. “Here too, India was compelled to respond to bring Mortar and Artillery fire from Pakistan to a halt,” it added.

The press release issued by the Government of India mentioned that the fresh strikes were India’s “proportionate response” to “Pakistan’s bid to escalate”.

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