India strongly declines Pakistan's complaints of targeting civilians

India has strongly declined Pakistan's complaints that the Indian forces had targeted civilian infrastructure and religious sites, terming the allegations "blatant lies" and warning that any further escalation would be met with a firm response. The Indian government asserted that its 'Operation Sindoor,' which was launched in retaliation to the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, was aimed only at terrorist hideouts and that no civilian casualties took place. Addressing a press briefing on Thursday, May 8 (Thursday), Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, "As far as we are concerned, the individuals eliminated at these facilities were terrorists."

Vikram Misri also refuted Pakistan's statement that India had struck the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), calling the allegation "absolutely fabricated and a blatant lie." He warned that any retaliatory targeting of Indian infrastructure based on such accusations would carry consequences, for which India would hold Pakistan responsible.

While talking about Pakistan's claim that it had downed Indian jets, Vikram Misri said such claims were consistent with what he described as a persistent mechanism for disseminating misinformation by the Pakistan government. "After all, this is a country that started lying as soon as it was born. In 1947, when the Pakistani army claimed Jammu and Kashmir, they lied not to any random person but to the United Nations that we have nothing to do with it. So this journey started 75 years ago," he complained.

He also refuted the allegations that India deliberately attacked religious sites in Pakistan, stating that the targeted locations were terrorist facilities and clearly connected with cross-border terrorism. "It is Pakistan that misuses religious sites as a cover to radicalize, direct, indoctrinate and train terrorists," he alleged.

In the meantime in what India called a reckless drive by Pakistan, Pakistani forces allegedly launched targeted attacks on the Sikh community in the Poonch area on the night of May 6, killing three people and damaging a Gurdwara.

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, Indian Air Force, said that cross-border shelling by Pakistan across the Line of Control - affecting sectors including Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, Poonch, Mendhar, and Rajouri - resulted in the deaths of 16 civilians, including three women and five children, and left 59 others wounded.

India responded by targeting air defence systems and radars in Pakistan with "the same domain and intensity," said Colonel Sofiya Qureshi. "It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralized."

Vikram Misri told the audiences that India's official stance remains that its operations were "non-escalatory, precise, and measured." Misri said the Indian government's intention is not to escalate matters, and that it is only responding to the escalation. "No military targets have been targeted; only terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan has been hit," he added.

Moreover, Vikram Misri questioned the presentation of the funerals of those killed in Pakistan, saying, "It's also odd that funerals of civilians are being carried out with coffins wrapped in their national flag, and state honours are being accorded. As far as we are concerned, the individuals eliminated at these facilities were terrorists. Giving state funerals to terrorists may be a practice in Pakistan, but it doesn't seem to make much sense to us."

Vikram Misri further said that, on the night of May 7-8, Pakistan attempted to strike multiple Indian military sites using drones and missiles, targeting locations including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, and Chandigarh. He said India's Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems deactivated the threats, and that the recovered debris confirmed the attempted attacks.

Misri also reiterated that the "original escalation" began with the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, for which The Resistance Front - a known proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba - had claimed responsibility twice. "Only after the full gravity of the incident was noticed across the border did they try to retract the statement, but that did not convince anyone," he said.

The Indian Foreign Secretary also said that the Indian government maintains that its responses are limited and monitored. "The retaliatory actions taken by Pakistan are causing harm to civilians. Any further action by Pakistan, some of which we are seeing today, is nothing but escalation and will be responded to appropriately," Vikram Misri pointed out.