Pakistan blitz meets Indian firewall

AMRITSAR: India thwarted a series of drone and missile attacks launched from Pakistan on Friday night and early Saturday, neutralising multiple aerial threats to key military installations and civilian areas across Punjab's border districts of Amritsar and Gurdaspur.India thwarted the attacks just hours before a truce was reached between the two countries. However, it was short lived, as the neighbouring country violated it again in Jammu.The Army said Pakistan had made several attempts to target Pathankot's Air Force Station along with its surrounding military installations and civilian areas. The first wave around 8pm on Friday triggered a quick red alert and blackout across Amritsar city. Air defence units spotted and destroyed drones over the Khasa region, halting Pakistan's offensive within 30 minutes.A second strike was reported on Friday night at Bamiyal village near the border. Again, Indian defences responded promptly, shooting down incoming drones and missiles. At about 4.30am on Saturday, the enemy made a third attempt to strike Pathankot using a mix of drones and missiles. Defence sources have said the airbase and other installations were the intended targets, but no damage was reported. Debris from intercepted drones and rockets was recovered from Amritsar's Rajasanasi area villages, including Magulani Kot and Rayya.Beas in Amritsar also targetedThe Beas region of Amritsar was also targeted on Friday night, but all hostile drones were intercepted. One of the drones crashed at Jallupur Khera, home village of jailed MP Amritpal Singh, without causing any damage. In the wee hours of Saturday, another coordinated drone assault was launched over Khasa, which was intercepted successfully yet again. Explosions from defence responses ceased around 6.30am.Gurdaspur district also came under attack, with multiple drones detected near the Tibri Cantonment area. Air defence systems neutralised three drones mid-air. Around 11pm on Friday, additional drones tried to target the Kartarpur Corridor near Dera Baba Nanak, while a rocket launcher was fired at a village near Dinanagar. A missile also struck Raju Bela village in Kahnuwan block, creating a large crater. No casualties or significant damage were reported in any of the incidents.The Army issued an official statement to report that Pakistan had used Turkish Byker YIHA III kamikaze drones to target densely populated areas. The statement adds: "Thanks to the vigilance and rapid response of the Army's Air Defence (AAD) network, the hostile drones were detected, tracked and engaged within seconds of breaching Indian airspace." Quick-reaction air-defence guns deployed along the border intercepted and neutralised the drones in mid-air, preventing debris from falling on civilian areas.