Pakistani forces targeted Golden Temple after India's strikes against terrorists: Senior Indian Army officer
May 19, 2025 10:58 AM IST
Pakistan attempted to target the Golden Temple in Amritsar with drones and missiles on the intervening night of May 7–8 in retaliation against India’s strikes on nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Major General Kartik C Seshadri, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 15th Infantry Division, revealed on Monday.
The senior Indian Army officer said Pakistan had no legitimate military targets and was expected to strike civilian and religious sites in India.
“Knowing that the Pak Army does not have any legitimate targets, we anticipated that they would target Indian military installations, civilian targets including religious places,” he told ANI. "Of these, Golden Temple appeared to be the most prominent,” he added.
"We mobilised additional modern air defence assets to give a holistic air defence umbrella cover to Golden Temple,” Major General Seshadri said.
The attack came in the early hours of May 8. Pakistan launched a large-scale air assault using drones and long-range missiles under the cover of darkness. “On 8th May early morning, in the hours of darkness, Pakistan carried out a massive air assault with unmanned aerial weapons, primarily drones and long-range missiles,” he said, adding that the Indian Army was fully prepared and thus intercepted and destroyed all incoming threats.
"We were fully prepared since we had anticipated this, and our braveheart and alert army air defence gunners thwarted Pakistan Army's nefarious designs and shot down all drones and missiles targeted at the Golden Temple. Thus, not allowing even a scratch to come on our holy Golden Temple,” the officer added.
The Indian Army also conducted a demonstration to showcase how its air defence systems—such as the AKASH missile system and L-70 Air Defence Guns—successfully intercepted and neutralised incoming Pakistani drones and missiles, protecting the Golden Temple and key cities across Punjab.
A defence ministry statement had earlier confirmed that multiple Indian cities and military bases were targeted in the overnight assault, including Amritsar, Jammu, Srinagar, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, and Bhuj. Explosions were also heard across Kashmir.
“These were neutralised by the Integrated Counter-UAS Grid and Air Defence systems,” the statement said.
The attacks came in the wake of India’s Operation Sindoor – a coordinated military strike on nine terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. The operation was conducted in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians.
