‘Decided to strike where it would harm’: Air Marshal AK Bharti gives details of India’s retaliatory strikes on Pakistan airbases | India News

NEW DELHI: In a joint press briefing of defence officers on Sunday, Air Marshal AK Bharti confirmed that Pakistan tried to breach Indian airspace utilizing its fighter jets in response to India’s cross-border counterterror actions beneath ‘Operation Sindoor‘. However, the Indian Air Force efficiently repelled the intrusion and downed “a few planes,” inflicting losses on Pakistan’s aspect.He additionally mirrored on the IAF’s choice to “strike where it would hurt,” pointing to the focused assaults on main Pakistani airbases.“Their planes were prevented from entering inside our border… Definitely, we have downed a few planes… Definitely, there are losses on their side which we have inflicted,” mentioned Air Marshal Bharti. He assured that “all our pilots are back home.”The briefing got here as all three wings of India’s armed forces shed mild on Operation Sindoor, the large-scale army response launched on May 7 following the Pakistan-backed terror assault in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 folks.Describing the strategic focusing on, Air Marshal Bharti mentioned, “A decision was taken to strike where it would hurt, and towards that, in a swift, coordinated, calibrated attack, we struck its air bases, command centers, military infrastructure, and air defence systems across the entire Western Front. The bases we struck include Chaklala, Rafiq, Rahim Yar Khan – sending a clear message that aggression will not be tolerated. This was followed by strikes at Sargodha, Bhulari, and Jacobabad.”When requested whether or not India had met its army targets, Bharti mentioned, “Have we achieved our objectives of decimating the terrorist camps? The answer is a thumping yes, and the results are for the whole world to see.”He added, “All I can say is that we have achieved our objectives that we selected and all our pilots are back home.”Air Marshal Bharti additionally introduced detailed video footage showcasing the influence of India’s precision air operations on key Pakistani army installations as half of ‘Operation Sindoor’. The visuals highlighted injury inflicted on a number of strategic targets, together with Pasrur, Chunian, and Arifwala air defence radars, in addition to main airfields at Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan, Chaklala (Nur Khan), Sukkur, Bholari, and Jacobabad.