Operation Sindoor Highlights: Pakistani troops resorted to cross-border shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir for the second consecutive day on Thursday, as reported by PTI.
Operation Sindoor Highlights: The Centre has called for an all-party meeting on Thursday, May 8, in the wake of Operation Sindoor which was carried out by the Indian Armed Forces in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The Congress has said that its party leaders will be present in the meeting, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge.
Hours after India conducted military strikes on terror hotbeds in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Islamabad was ready to “wrap” the tensions between the two countries if “India backs down”.
Emphasising that his country won’t hesitate to respond if India attacks, the Pakistani minister told Bloomberg Television, “We have been saying all along in the last fortnight that we’ll never initiate anything hostile towards India. But if we’re attacked, we’ll respond.”
Operation Sindoor: Government shares details
Earlier in the day, the government shared details of ‘Operation Sindoor’ that was carried out between 1:05 am and 1:30 am in the morning. Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said the Operation Sindoor was launched to deliver justice to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, that left 26 persons dead.
As part of ‘Operation Sindoor’, nine terror camps were targetted and “succesfully destroyed.” After India’s Operation Sindoor, the US, the UK and China cautioned their citizens against traveling to certain regions in India and Pakistan.
Masood Azhar says family killed
Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar acknowledged on Wednesday that 10 members of his family and four close associates were killed in India’s missile attack on the outfit’s headquarters in Bahawalpur.
A statement attributed to Azhar said those killed in the attack on Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur included the JeM chief’s elder sister and her husband, a nephew and his wife, another niece, and five children from his extended family.
What led to Operation Sindoor?
The Indian strikes on Pakistan came after days of escalating tensions and Pakistan’s downgraded diplomatic relations with India after the worst-ever terror attack on civilians in twenty-five years in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, on 22 April.
Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said the Operation Sindoor was launched to deliver justice to the Pahalgam terror attack victims and their families.
What did Pakistan say?
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the Indian missile strikes calling the attack an “act of war.” Shehbaz Sharif said his country has every right to give a “befitting reply.”
The Pakistan military’s media arm, Inter-Services Public Relations, said India has “struck three places from the air” – Bhawalpur in Pakistan’s Punjab Province as well as Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Pak Occupied Kashmir. The ISPR said all the strikes were conducted from Indian airspace and Pakistan would respond at a time and place of its choosing.
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Operation Sindoor LIVE: 21 airports in North India to remain shut till May 10
Sirivennela, ADCP-2 says, “As per the central government, 21 airports in the North and North-western India will remain shut till May 10. No flights will be operated from here…” (ANI)
Operation Sindoor LIVE: NIA appeals to tourists, localities to share information relating to Pahalgam terror attack
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has appealed to all tourists, visitors and local people who might have any more information, photographs or videos relating to the Pahalgam terror attack on tourists to immediately contact the agency.
Operation Sindoor LIVE: India has right to take steps to defend itself, says UK MP Priti Patel
UK Member of Parliament Priti Patel condemned the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and called on the British government to strengthen counter-terror cooperation with India, ANI reported.
Speaking in the UK House of Commons, Patel reiterated her condolences to the victims and urged the UK to recognise the cross-border terror threat posed by groups operating from Pakistan.