BHUBANESWAR  SATURDAY  MAY 10, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 14  LATE CITY EDITION DONALD TRUMP WANTS QUICK DE-ESCALATION: WHITE HOUSE US President Donald Trump wants to see the conflict between India and Pakistan de-escalate as quickly as possible, the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said NSA AND SECY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO INVOLVED IN IT TURKISH HEARTLESS PAKISTAN MILITARY PUT CIVILIAN FLIERS IN HARM’S WAY FINGERPRINT SEEN IN DOWNED On May 7, the day India took out Pak’s terror infra, the neighbour did not close its civil airspace while trying to attack Indian installations with drones and missiles. Else, it knew the strikes would draw a swift Indian response. In effect, it used its civil airliners as a shield. The defence ministry shared screenshots of flight movement on the website flightradar24 to prove its point (see map) DRONES Drone of war deafens border again Three injured in Punjab as debris falls on house; bid to attack Srinagar, Jammu airports foiled; air defence systems take out most of the projectiles fired from across the border PoK DAY 3 FAYA Z W A N I , H A R P R E E T B A J W A , R A J E S H A S N A N I & M AYA N K S I N G H @ Srinagar / Chandigarh/ Jaipur / New Delhi DASHING hopes of an immediate de-escalation in tensions, Pakistan on Friday launched another wave of drone attacks targeting key Indian locations in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Rajasthan. The drones specifically targeted army bases in Srinagar and Awantipora and the Jammu airport, which also houses the Indian Air Force station. Multiple explosions were heard near Srinagar airport as the air defence systems engaged the drones. “Drones have been sighted at 26 locations ranging from the Baramulla in the North to Bhuj in the South, along both the International Border and the Line of Control with Pakistan. These include suspected armed drones posing potential threats to civilian and military targets,” the Army said. The loca- CHINA Baramulla Srinagar Avantipura Nagrota Jammu Pathankot Ferozpur Fazilka PAKISTAN Lalgarh Jatta Jaisalmer INDIA Barmer View of the blackout enforced in Amritsar city, Punjab on Friday | PTI tions include Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Nagrota, Jammu, Ferozpur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala, it added. Indian defence systems neutralised all drones. In Punjab, the debris fell on a house, injuring three. The condition of one person is said to be serious. “There was heavy drone attack at Khai Pheme Ki village near Ferozepur. One of the drones that was neutralised fell down like a ball of fire on to a house, injuring three. One lady who was cooking suffered extensive burn injuries. A CNG car parked outside the house caused a blast and the house caught fire,” an official said. Sources said the village is situated close to the army cantonment, which may have been the original target. In Jammu and Kashmir, red streaks were seen and several loud explosions heard in Jammu city and its adjoining areas as the air defence systems neutralised the kamikaze drones launched from across the border. Bhuj SOME OF THE CITIES TARGETED ON FRIDAY Map not to scale ‘Those in border areas must stay indoors’ Citizens, especially those in border areas, must stay indoors, limit unnecessary movement, and strictly follow safety instructions issued by local authorities, the army said in an advisory. There is no need for panic, but vigilance and precaution are essential, it added 400 UAVs incursions in 1 really long night M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi OPERATIONAL details shared by the government on Friday showed the massive scale of Pakistan’s incursion the previous night, as it deployed 300400 drones across 36 locations from Leh in the North to the Sir Creek region in Gujarat. While the UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) attempted to target the military infrastructure, Indian forces neutralised many of them using kinetic (blowing them away) and nonkinetic (jamming) means, a defence ministry spokesperson said. An armed drone strike on Bhatinda in Punjab was also thwarted. India retaliated by launching drone strikes on four Pakistani air defence sites, destroying a radar. Apart from the aerial attacks, Pakistan resorted to heavy artillery fire across the Line of Control (LoC), resulting in Indian Army casualties. India gave a fitting response, the government shared. In an official briefing, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said that Pakistan’s shelling using heavy-calibre artillery guns and armed drones caused some losses and injuries to Indian Army personnel. Besides, Pakistan showed Vital installations, religious PM meets defence brass amid Pak escalation places being fortified: Majhi EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar WITH war clouds looming large, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday asserted that all necessary steps have been taken to protect vital installations and religious places in Odisha. The chief minister told mediapersons that the Centre is prepared deal with any situation arising out of India’s resolve to stamp out ter rorism from the country The state gov. ernment on its part has taken robust steps to enhance security at key locations after thorough assessment of potential threats. Stating that the state government is fully prepared, the chief minister assured that there is nothing to panic. He said Odisha does not face much threat at present but there are places like DRDO’s integrated test range at Chandipur in Balasore district, Shree Jagannath temple in Puri and other locations which can be likely targets from the side of the Bay of Bengal. On Friday, he reviewed the security situation with chief secretary Manoj Ahuja, DGP YB Khurania and other senior officials. He said security reinforcements were discussed at the high-level meeting. Strict security checks will be implemented and measures are being taken to seal sensitive areas, he said. The chief minister said steps are also being taken by the state government to bring back Odias including students who have been stranded at places in northern and western India, particularly those in the India-Pak border which are witnessing missile and drone attacks by the CONTINUED ON P5 latter. RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR AND M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi AMID fresh escalations from Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a crucial highlevel meeting with the chiefs of all three armed services—Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, and Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh were also there at the meeting held at the PM’s residence on Friday evening. The meeting came in the backdrop of Pakistan’s attempts to launch drone and missile strikes in Jammu, Punjab and other parts of the country on Thursday night. During the meeting that lasted more than an hour, Modi commended the success of the armed forces in repelling Pakistan’s provocations, it is learnt. “Full details were shared with the PM who in turn asked the service chiefs to do the needful to teach a lesson to the enemies,” a source said. Earlier in the day, Rajnath Singh had held a detailed meeting with the three service chiefs to take stock of the evolving situation and a comprehensive national security assessment. Before his meeting with the three service chiefs, Prime Min- ister Modi met armed forces veterans at his residence. “There was an extensive interaction with ex-servicemen who have experience in handling such situations in the past. PM Modi carefully listened to their suggestions,” a source said, adding that the veterans included former chiefs of Air Force, Army and Navy . According to sources, NSA Ajit Doval stayed back after the meeting with the service chiefs was over, to have a one-on-one with Modi. Later, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reached the PM’s residence to brief him about the diplomatic measures taken to deal with the India-Pakistan tension. INDIA ABSTAINS FROM IMF VOTE ON LOAN TO PAKISTAN India abstained from the IMF vote on Pakistan’s loan programmes on Friday, stating its concerns over its funds being misused for state sponsored cross- border terrorism. “Rewarding continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism sends a dangerous message to the global community, exposes funding agencies and donors to reputational risks, and makes a mockery of global values,” India said. The IMF took note of the abstention During the intervening night of May 8 and 9, Pakistan carried out strikes using 300-400 drones against India at 36 locations along the western borders from Leh in the north to Sir Creek in Gujarat Meant to test defence The possible purpose of such large-scale aerial intrusions was to test Indian air defence systems and collect intelligence, the defence ministry said scant respect for civilians as it kept its civil airspace open during its counter-assault on May 7, the day India took out the terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, said the spokesperson. Pakistan apparently used the civilian fliers as a shield to ward off India’s fierce response. The officer caustically said, “Pakistan is using civil airliners as a shield, knowing fully well that its attack on India would elicit a swift air defence response. This is not safe for the unsuspecting civil airliners, including the international flights which were flying near the International Border between India and Pakistan.” Sharing a screenshot of flight movement on the website flightradar24, the officer underscored that the IAF demonstrated considerable restraint in its response, ensuring safety of the international flights. Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said preliminary examination of downed drones showed they were Turkey’s Asisguard Songars 1 The Songar has five variants, including a noncombat one. Can be used “effectively in any kind of day/ night military and security operations”. It has a range of about 10 km, with a load carrying capacity of 45 kg, an option for asymmetric threats 2 Developed by Asisguard, an Ankara-based firm, Songar is a low-altitude, quadrotor, UAV that was developed for the Turkish armed forces. Has been in use since 2020 for battlefield operations as well as internal security duties 3 SONGAR has an autonomous take-off and landing capability. It is integrated with a machine gun and grenade launcher. With the capability of real-time image transmission, it can detect target area, neutralise threat and damage detection 4 BCCI SUSPENDS IPL GAMES FOR A WEEK G O M E S H S @ Chennai WITH military operations escalating in the India and Pakistan border, the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been suspended for one week. The BCCI made the decision public after a meeting with all stakeholders including the franchises on Friday morning. “Further updates regarding the new schedule and venues of the tournament will be announced in due course after a comprehensive assessment of the situation in consultation with relevant authorities and stakeholders,” the BCCI said in a statement. This looked inevitable after the match between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings was called off midway because of security reasons. With conflict between the two neighbours escalating and some of the matches to be held in Delhi, Chandigarh and Jaipur, BCCI was left with little choice. The Punjab and Delhi teams were brought to New Delhi on a special Vande Bharat train from Jalandhar while the other franchises have returned to their bases. Meanwhile, the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic, which was scheduled to be held on May 24 in Bengaluru, was postponed as well.