A day after India executed precision military strikes under ‘Operation Sindoor’ to dismantle cross-border terror camps following the gruesome Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 innocent lives, panic gripped Lahore as a series of loud explosions rocked the city on May 8. Sirens wailed across the Gopal Nagar and Naseerabad localities near Walton Airport, forcing people to flee their homes as plumes of smoke clouded the skyline.
Targeting nine major terror launchpads operated by Pakistan-based groups Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) — both internationally proscribed organisations with a long history of targeting civilians and armed forces alike.
According to Reuters and multiple Pakistani media outlets, the unsettling blasts occurred just kilometres away from Lahore’s elite Central Business District and the highly secured army cantonment, triggering suspicions of an aerial intrusion. Initial reports by Samaa TV, citing police sources, suggest the explosions might have been caused by a 5-6 feet-long drone, possibly intercepted mid-air via electronic jamming technology.
Though no casualties or infrastructural damage have been reported so far, flight operations at Lahore, Sialkot, and Karachi airports were suspended, indicating heightened alert across Pakistan’s air defence apparatus.
According to defence sources, the Indian Air Force (IAF) deployed Rafale jets equipped with air-to-surface missiles, while the Indian Army simultaneously launched precision-guided surface-to-surface missiles, successfully eliminating between 80 to 90 terrorists in both Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK).
Importantly, officials confirmed that all targets were selected with meticulous precision to avoid civilian casualties or damage to Pakistan’s military infrastructure. “This was a strike against terror, not a nation,” a senior government source stated, underlining the strategic restraint and ethical commitment behind the operation.
In what appears to be a retaliatory move, the Pakistan Army shelled civilian areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch-Rajouri sector, leading to the tragic death of 15 Indian civilians — a blatant violation of international humanitarian norms and a worrying escalation that may invite further consequences.
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