MEA Press Conference Today LIVE Updates: Amit Shah Meets NSA, Crucial MEA Press Briefing Shortly

MEA Press Conference on Operation Sindoor Live: Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated sharply on the night of Thursday, May 8 and into the early hours of Friday, May 9, following a series of cross-border military engagements involving drones and missiles. India announced that it had "neutralised" Pakistani drone and missile attacks targeting multiple military installations, including sites in Jammu and Pathankot on Thursday night. This came after Indian forces successfully thwarted similar attempts at 15 locations across the northern and western regions of the country, as tensions between the two nations intensified, raising concerns of a wider conflict.

India-Pakistan Tensions LIVE

Pakistan's Missile and Drone Attacks: Pakistan launched a series of missile and drone attacks targeting Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan. Explosions were reported in Jammu, including areas such as RS Pura, Arnia, Samba, and Hiranagar as well as in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer. Indian air defenCe systems, including the S-400 missile system, successfully intercepted these threats, preventing casualties and damage to military assets. Meanwhile, sirens and numerous explosions were reported in Akhnoor, Samba, Baramulla and Kupwara and several other places as the Indian military carried out a massive night aerial vigil along the border with Pakistan.

India's Counter-Offensive: In response, India conducted retaliatory strikes targeting Pakistani military infrastructure including air defense systems in Lahore. Indian forces claimed to have shot down Pakistani F-16 fighter jets and JF-17 Thunder jets that took off from the Sargodha air base. Additionally, India reported neutralising attempts by Pakistan to target military stations in Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur with drones and missiles. India thwarted the attack and neutralised over 50 Pakistani drones on Thursday night, sources said. The drones were shot down in several districts of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, including Udhampur, Samba, Jammu, Akhnoor, Nagrota, and Pathankot. On Thursday night, when Pakistan made failed attempts to send swarm drones all across various places along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Borders (IB), over 50 drones were successfully neutralised during a large-scale counter-drone operation conducted by Indian Army Air Defence units in the areas of Udhampur, Samba, Jammu, Akhnoor, Nagrota, and Pathankot areas, sources said.