India hits Rawalpindi, seat of Pak Army HQ, after foiling attacks targeting our cities

In a decisive counter-attack, India on Thursday launched a powerful drone offensive in response to Pakistan’s foiled attempts to attack multiple Indian cities. These Pakistani bids followed a measured Indian operation on May 7 (Wednesday) that targeted terrorist bases within Pakistan, avoiding civilian areas and military installations, in response to the dastardly massacre in Pahalgam on April 22​, which claimed 26 innocent lives.

In retaliation on Thursday to ​failed Pakistani ​missile strikes, Indian forces struck strategic sites across its neighbour, including locations near the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Pakistan Army in Rawalpindi, Punjab, not far from the national Parliament. The GHQ​ is ​a vital centre for Pakistan’s military planning and coordination​ and for handling proxies.

According to initial reports quoting local sources, an Indian drone crashed near the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, triggering widespread panic among residents.

Tensions between ​​India and Pakistan have dramatically escalated since the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam in which ​Islamabad-trained militants killed men after identifying ​them as non-Muslims, in cold blood. In response, India launched what it described as Operation Sindoor, a coordinated campaign aimed at dismantling infrastructure supporting cross-border terrorism.

In addition to Rawalpindi, significant drone strikes were reported in Lahore, Gujranwala, Chakwal, Attock, Bahawalpur, Mianwali and Chhor. One of the most notable targets was the Pakistan Air Force Base Minhas in Kamra, Attock District, which houses advanced aircraft and forms part of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex.

India deployed several Israeli-made Harop attack drones in the offensive. Reports confirm that multiple Pakistani military personnel were killed in the strikes.

While the international community has expressed grave concern over the escalating tensions between the two nations, Indian officials stated that diplomatic channels remain open. New Delhi has urged Pakistan to show restraint and accept the consequences of its actions.

A government statement issued on Thursday noted that Indian Armed Forces had targeted Air Defence radars and systems at various locations across Pakistan. “The Indian response has been in the same domain and of the same intensity as Pakistan’s aggression,” the statement read, adding that an Air Defence system in Lahore was successfully neutralised.

The official release clarified the rationale behind India’s counter-attack: “The Integrated Counter-UAS Grid and Air Defence Systems neutralised these (Pakistani attempts). The debris from these attacks, now being recovered from multiple locations, serves as evidence of Pakistan’s failed offensive.”

In the initial wave of Pakistan’s attempted strikes, drones and missiles reportedly targeted Awantipora and Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), as well as key cities in Punjab, including Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, and Bathinda. Other locations included Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj. These targets encompass major civilian centres and critical military bases, particularly in Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab.

On May 7, the day India had planned nationwide mock drills, it struck Pakistan’s terror camps in nine locations ​in a pre-dawn offensive, firing 24 missiles, including in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, razing many of their terror hubs to the ground and killing scores of terrorists.

India-PakistanOperation SindoorPahalgamRawalpindi. Pakistan Armyterror attack