New Delhi: Pakistan lost around 35 to 40 military personnel in artillery and small arm firings on the Line of Control (LoC) from May 7 to May 10, as announced by the Indian armed forces on Sunday.
In the wee hours of May 7, Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor, dismantling the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). This was a retaliation in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which claimed the lives of 26 people.
In a press briefing, the Indian armed forces represented by Director General of Military Operation (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, Air Marshal AK Bharti, Maj Gen SS Sharma, and Vice Admiral AN Pramod.
“Our aim on the 7th of May was to target terrorists and their infrastructure, not any other infrastructure, especially not Pakistani civilian or military establishments, and we achieved this with precision,” Lt. Gen Rajiv Ghai said.
“Some of the air fields and dumps saw repeated attacks in waves from the air. All were thwarted. The Pakistan Army has reported to have lost approximately 35 to 40 personal in artillery and small arms firing on the Line of Control between 7th and 10th May…,” he added.
He later mentioned about Pakistan launching unmanned aerial vehicles UAVs and small drones against the Indian military zones as well as the civilians. He said most of the drones were intercepted but three drones caused minimal damage.
The Indian forces clarified that the Pakistan military casualties weren’t counted in the initial phase as their target was terrorists.
“The key difference here is that we targeted terrorists, whereas the Pakistani response focused on our civilians and military infrastructure – a move that demands a response. In retaliation, we struck radar installations near Lahore and close to Gujranwala,” said Lt. Ghai.
The Indian armed forces reiterated the central government’s stance that their war was against terrorist and escalation was never the goal anywhere.
Lt. Ghai said that over 100 terrorists were killed where the armed forces launched Operation Sindoor in nine targeted sites. Some of the terrorist killed in the missile attack like Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf, and Mudasir Ahmed were involved in the hijacking of IC814 (1999) and Pulawama blast (2019).
