Days after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated that Pakistan tried to target religious sites in India as part of its reaction to Operation Sindoor, the Indian Army on Monday confirmed that it neutralized Pakistan’s multiple aerial attacks aiming at sensitive sites, including the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

In a media briefing on May 9, Misri had lambasted Pakistan for targeting the civilians and civilian infrastructure in response to India’s attack on the terror bases located in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

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“The other point in the same vein is Pakistani claims that they did not target or attack any religious places. You would recall that yesterday I shared with you an incident related to the attack on a Gurdwara in Poonch. Instead of owning up to these attacks, Pakistan made the preposterous and outrageous claim that it was the Indian Armed Forces and the Indian Air Force that was targeting cities like Amritsar and trying to put the blame on Pakistan.

“This is nothing but a desperate attempt by Pakistan to disown its acts of aggression. But it is also true to type in its effort to deceive and mislead the world. It will not succeed. The Gurdwara in Poonch in particular was attacked by Pakistan and some local members of the Sikh community, including Ragi of the Gurdwara, lost their lives in this incident as I shared yesterday,” he went on to add.

On Monday, the 15 Infantry Division held a live demonstration in Amritsar wherein a display of debris of Pakistan’s demolished missiles and drones were shown to the media. The aerial weapons were intercepted and neutralised by the Indian air defence systems. Along with the display of debris, a live demonstration of how India’s air defence systems, including L-70 Air Defence Guns and AKASH missile systems, were used to neutralise aerial threats aimed at critical sites, were showcased.

Later, speaking to the media, Major General Kartik C Seshadri, General Officer Commanding, 15 Infantry Division, revealed that among the other sites, Pakistan also tried to directly target the Golden Temple.

“Knowing that the Pakistani army does not have any legitimate targets, we anticipated that they would target Indian military installations and civilian targets, including religious places. Of these, the Golden Temple appeared to be the most prominent. We mobilised additional modern air defence assets to give a holistic air defence umbrella cover to Golden Temple,” he said.

“On 8th May early morning, in the hours of darkness, Pakistan carried out a massive air assault with unmanned aerial weapons, primarily drones and long-range missiles. We were fully prepared since we had anticipated this, and our braveheart and 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 come on our holy Golden Temple,” Seshadri said.