Army says Pak may have targeted Golden Temple; here’s how bid was foiled
Major General Kartik C Sheshadri says Pakistan had no legitimate military targets to fire at and was expected to strike religious sites like the Golden Temple
In the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliatory strike on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, early on May 7, Pakistan attempted massive missile and drone attacks on several sites in India.
One of the targeted sites was the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Major General Kartik C Sheshadri, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 15th Infantry Division, has revealed.
However, the attack was foiled by the exceptional defence systems of the Indian Armed Forces, thus averting what could have been a national tragedy.
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The senior Army officer said Pakistan had no legitimate military targets to fire at and, therefore, was expected to strike civilian and religious sites in India.
Holistic air defence cover
He also explained that of those targets, the Golden Temple in Amritsar appeared the most prominent and probable.
“We mobilised additional modern air defence assets to give a holistic air defence umbrella cover to Golden Temple,” Major General Seshadri said.
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He added that the Army was ready for all kinds of threats and will defend its "sacred sites" with full vigour.
Munitions used in Pakistani attack
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), loitering munitions, and long-range missiles were some of the weapons used in the attack.
But the Indian defence systems, operating with round-the-clock surveillance and rapid response capabilities, detected and neutralised all the incoming threats.
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The Golden Temple was left completely unscathed by the Pakistani attack.
Demonstration of air defence systems
A demonstration was also organized and conducted by the Indian Army, featuring air defence systems such as the AKASH missile system and L-70 Air defence guns.
This showcased how the incoming Pakistani drones and missiles targeted at the Golden temple and other sites in Punjab were successfully neutralised.
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An earlier defence ministry statement confirmed that multiple Indian cities and military bases were targeted in the assault on the night of May 8, including Amritsar, Jammu, Srinagar, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, and Bhuj, but they were all neutralised by the Integrated Counter-UAS Grid and Air Defence systems.