By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military said Thursday it had shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones launched by India at multiple locations across the country, but one drone managed to strike a military target near Lahore, injuring four army officers, while another crash killed a civilian in southern Sindh province.
The latest hostilities erupted overnight between May 7 and 8, when Pakistan’s military reported that India had sent Harop drones into its airspace, targeting cities including Lahore, Gujrawalla, Chakwal, Rawalpindi, Attock, Bahawalpur, and areas near Karachi.
The military’s media wing, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), said Pakistan’s air defence system had neutralised the majority of the drones, showcasing a robust response to what it called a blatant act of provocation.
“The Pakistan Armed Forces have so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones through both soft kill (technical) and hard kill (weapons) measures,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“Following India’s cowardly attack on May 6/7, which resulted in the destruction of five advanced aircraft, drones, multiple posts, and military casualties, India is now attacking Pakistan in panic using these Israeli-made Harop drones.”
The military said the cowardly assault is a sign of India’s distress and confusion.
“India has also suffered and continues to suffer heavy losses along the Line of Control,” the ISPR said. “Debris of Israeli-made Harop drones is being recovered from various areas of Pakistan.”
The drone campaign follows India’s missile strikes on May 6 and 7, which killed 31 people and injured 57 across various Pakistani cities. New Delhi described those strikes as a necessary response to an April 22 attack in the disputed Kashmir region that left 26 tourists dead, an incident it blamed on Pakistan despite Islamabad’s repeated denials.
India said it had targeted “terrorist infrastructure,” but Pakistan condemned the strikes as a violation of its sovereignty, saying it had shot down five Indian fighter jets in retaliation.
Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, a military spokesperson, in a separate televised message, said one drone breached defenses near Lahore, injuring four officers and damaging equipment.
“…. one drone, however, managed to engage a military target near Lahore partially,” Chaudhry continued. “Four men of Pakistan Army have been injured in this attack near Lahore and partial damage to equipment has occurred.”
Chaudhry said the drone assaults were ongoing, with India continuing to send unmanned aircraft across the border. “As we speak, the process of India sending across these Harop drones, this naked aggression, continues and the armed forces are on a high degree of alert and neutralizing them,” he said.
He labeled the situation a “serious provocation,” calling on the international community to take note of India’s escalation “in a highly charged environment.”
In Sarfaraz Leghari village, located in Ghotki district of Sindh province, a drone crashed after being hit by Pakistani forces, killing one villager and injuring another. Senior Superintendent of Police Dr. Samiullah Soomro confirmed the incident, saying, “This morning, a drone fell over two villagers… killing one man and injuring another.” Eyewitnesses reported that the drone had entered from the Indian side the previous night, hovering over the village before it was downed and crashed near a canal where the men were working.
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