Panic-stan: Pakistan Army lied after India destroyed its China-made air defence systems across cities. Then, India spoke the truth

Operation Sindoor Indo-Pak war clouds - After Pahalgam terror attack avenged, Pakistan lies about blasts: At around 2 am on Thursday (May 8), I was woken up by a phone call from a colleague who said that loud sounds were heard in the north Indian city of Amritsar in India's northern Punjab state. Upon checking, it was reported as either Indian Air Force sorties taking off, or Pakistan attacking India in response to Operation Sindoor the previous night, which avenged the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 that had killed 26 Indians. A misinformation campaign from Pakistan ensued in the morning of May 8, with claims that it had shot down drones from India in various cities. By evening, India spoke: Blasts that were heard in Pakistan were from India destroying Pakistan's China-made air defence system, and what was heard in Amritsar was the failed misadventure of Pakistan.

Here is what happened in short, if you are leaving without reading the rest of this story, where I will share how the Pakistani military tried to spin the narrative till India spoke. The crux of what happened is: Indian Air Force targetted Pakistan's Air Defence radars. The Pakistani air defence system at Lahore was neutralised. India targetted Pakistan at different cities, in the same proportion and intensity as Pakistan. India used its Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems for the action. 

As the reports emerged of panic in Pakistan, the country's military came up with a claim that it had shot down Indian drones in Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Attock, Bahawalpur, Miano and Chor.

Note that Rawalpindi, a garrison town, is the location of Pakistan Army's General Headquarters or GHQ. Karachi is the financial and industrial hub of Pakistan, and its largest city as well as main seaport. Lahore is a city of great cultural and historical significance for Pakistan and a tourist destination. Bahawalpur is among the targets of India's Operation Sindoor. 

ISPR, or Inter-Services Public Relations, the propaganda wing of Pakisani army, came up with its spin, claiming that 25 drones have been "shot down by Pakistan's soft kill (technical) and hard kill (weapons) forces." It said the debris of these drones are "being collected from different areas of Pakistan."

The videos were out on social media by this time, and they told a totally different story.

But naturally, there was confusion during the daytime of Thursday in India too. That's when Indian defence ministry issued a statement, clearing the air.

The Indian defence ministry confirmed the truth about that phone call mentioned at the beginning of this story.

It said that on the intervening night of 7 and 8 May  Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in northern and western India.

These included Amritsar, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, Awantipura and Bhuj, using drones and missiles.

These were neutralised by India's 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," said the Indian ministry release.

The Indian ministry went on to add that on Thursday morning, India targeted Pakistan's Air Defence Radars and systems at a number of locations inside Pakistan. 

"It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised," it added.

The only option left for Pakistan is cross-border shelling in violation of the ceasefire along the Line of Control.

The firing in Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar and Rajouri sectors in Jammu and Kashmir left 16 civilians dead, including three women and five children.

Pakistani ordinary citizens are now wondering whether its Army can even defend the country, let alone mount a successful attack on India.

Some of the explosions on the Pakistani side were outside the Pindi cricket stadium, at the food street. This led the Pakistani cricket board to ask PSL players to leave the area.

Pakistan has closed its main airports. The Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Sialkot airports will remain closed till the evening of May 10 now.

India has made it clear that the Operation Sindoor was a 'focused, measured and non-escalatory' strike, in which a significant number of terrorists were killed.

India had made it clear that Pakistani military establishments had not been targeted in Operation Sindoor. 

New Delhi did not want to escalate, but is ready for any Pakistani retaliation.

Any attack on military targets in India will invite a suitable response, India warned. But Pakistan seems to be in no mood to listen.

India is awake and alert. Ready and prepared.
Pakistan might want to think twice before doing something similar to what it did on May 8.