china PoK Awantipura afghanistan Rawalpindi Chakwal Gujranwala hubballi l friday l may 09, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Interception 40N6E missile[3] Long-range surveillance radar 240 km 150 km 48N6DM(E3) missile 48N6M(E2) missile 48N6(E) missile Command vehicle 120 km 9M96M(E2) Engagement radar 40 km 9M96 missile Launch vehicle Engagement radar helps guide missiles towards target Missile, drone attacks on Jammu airport neutralised; unmanned aerial vehicles trying to bomb parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and elsewhere shot; US urges immediate de-escalation @ Srinagar/ Chandigarh/New Delhi Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated on Thursday evening after Pakistani drone attacks were reported across parts of Jammu, Punjab and Rajasthan. The Indian air defence system responded swiftly, intercepting multiple drones, triggering air raid sirens and enforcing blackouts in border towns. As the tension ratcheted up in the evening, US secretary of state Marco Rubio spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and called for “immediate de-escalation”. He offered “support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications,” US state department said. Jaishankar said India “will firmly counter any attempts at escalation”. The chain of events began with Pakistan launching missiles and kamikaze drones targeting the Jammu airport and the civilian areas around, which also houses the Indian Air Force station. All missiles and drones were neutralised. Soon after, explosions were reported in Punjab, followed by Pakistani shelling near Pathankot and Kupwara. Moments later, Pakistani drones were seen being intercepted over Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer, with visible explosions and flashes lighting up the sky . The situation quickly escalated as civil administrations across northern India moved into action. Hoshiarpur in Punjab declared an immediate blackout after loud explosions were heard. “The blackout will continue till further orders,” said Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain, confirming that it was enforced following instructions from Air Force authorities. Amritsar, Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, and parts of Barmer in Rajasthan soon followed with similar blackout orders. Debris believed to be from missiles was recovered from Kumahi Devi village near Hoshiarpur’s Talwara, officials said. “Military stations of Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur in proximity to the International Boundary in J&K were target- ed by Pakistan using missiles and drones. No losses. Threat neutralised by #IndianArmedForces as per SoP with kinetic & non-kinetic means,” the Army said. As many as eight missiles from Pakistan directed at Satwari, Samba, RS Pura and Arnia across the border were neutralised. “More hostile drones were sighted at multiple places along western front and were being engaged by the air defence systems,” Army sources said. Earlier in the day, India had targeted Pakistani air defence systems, including one in Lahore, in response to overnight drone and missile attacks launched by Pakistan. These strikes came just a day after India carried out Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructures in Pakistan. EAM to Saudi, Iran: India will respond with a very firm hand jaya n th ja c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting secretaries of various ministries | PTI PM meets top officials, calls for emergency preparedness RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting with top officials from various ministries to review national preparedness and inter-ministerial coordination in light of the escalating conflict with Pakistan. According to sources, several key issues were discussed in the meeting, including strengthening of civil defence, combating misinformation and fake news, and securing critical infrastructure. The Cabinet secretary senior , officials from the prime minister’s office, and secretaries from key ministries including defence, home affairs, external affairs, information & broadcasting, power, health, and telecommunications attended the meeting, sources said. The secretaries were directed to conduct a comprehensive review the operations of their respective ministries and to ensure the fool-proof functioning of essential systems, with particular emphasis on readiness, emergency response, and internal communication protocols. EXTERNAL Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said India will respond with a “very, very firm” hand to any military aggression from Pakistan, amid a flurry of diplomatic engagements with Iranian and Saudi ministers as tensions mount between the neighbours. In his opening remarks during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New Delhi, Jaishankar said Pahalgam attack had forced India to retaliate across the border. “ ...It is not our intention to escalate this situation. However, if there are military attacks on us, it will be met with a very very firm re, sponse,” he said. The two ministers co-chaired the 20th India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting. Araghchi had visited Pakistan on Monday . Jaishankar also met Adel Al-Jubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia and spoke on India’s response. “A good meeting with Adel Al-Jubeir this morning. Shared India’s perspective on countering terrorism.” India’s pride, Col Sofia is K’taka’s daughter-in-law E x p ress Ne w s S er v i c e @ B e l a g a v i Colonel Sofia Qureshi, who hit the headlines along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh after their media briefing on the success of ‘Operation Sindoor’,has close links with Karnataka, especially Belagavi district. For, she is now called a proud ‘daughter-in-law’ of Karnataka. Although she hails from Baroda in Gujarat, Sofia married Col Tajuddin Bagewadi of Konnur village in Gokak taluk of Belagavi district. According to her father-in-law Gous Sab Bagewadi, Sofia and Tajuddin “liked each other and we got them married in 2015.” Uttarlai Jaisalmer Bikaner Jodhpur Umerkot’s Chhor INDIA REPELS PAKistan DRONE BLITZ F aya z Wa n i , H ar p reet Baj w a , M aya n k S i n g h Bhatinda Col Tajuddin Bagewadi and Col Sofia Qureshi A 1999-commissioned officer, Sofia has had high-profile postings in her over three decades of service in the Army She is known for her un. compromising and fearless attitude. She was part of the Congo peacekeep- ing mission in 2006. Tajuddin is now in Jhansi. Gous Sab was all praise for his daughterin-law, now posted in Jammu, after watching her explain the success of ‘Operation Sindoor’ on TV . “I am extremely proud of my son and daughter-in-law, who are serving in the Indian Army I was not aware . of Sofia’s media briefing. One of my friends in Konnur alerted me. I then watched her on TV briefing about the success of the operation,” he said. Sofia and Tajuddin visit Konnur during their vacation every year. “Sofia and my son like eating desi chicken and rotis while in Konnur. They are supposed to visit us for Bakrid next month,” Gous Sab said. express read Robert Prevost becomes first American pope K’taka Assembly disqualifies Janardhan Reddy for 6 yrs Karnataka cabinet to discuss BC quota today Vatican City: Cardinal Robert Prevost, a missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and leads the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church. Prevost, 69, took the name Leo XIV | P11 Bengaluru: The Karnataka Legislative Assembly has disqualified BJP leader and Gangavathi MLA Gali Janardhan Reddy for six years following his conviction in the illegal mining case by a CBI court in Hyderabad. With this, one seat in the Assembly has fallen vacant | P4 Bengaluru: The Karnataka cabinet is likely to discuss enhancement of the backward classes quota from 32% to 51% when it meets on Friday. The cabinet may agree on enhancement of quota and lob the ball into the Centre’s court for its approval | P4 Ludhiana ■ Jalandhar Kapurthala Barmer Karachi 200 km Lahore Sindh Operational range 400 km Pathankot Amritsar PA K I S T A N How S-400s neutralised the enemy The Air Force used the Russian-made S-400 missile defence system to obliterate Pakistan’s escalation bid Srinagar Jammu Attock CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ Phalodi Bhuj Map not to scale Indian sites hit by Pakistan Pakistan sites hit by India THREAT NEUTRALISED Military Stations of Jammu, Pathankot and Udhampur in proximity to the International Boundary, in Jammu & Kashmir targeted by Pakistan using missiles and drones. No losses. Threat neutralised by #IndianArmedForces as per SoP with kinetic & non-kinetic means. India’s Air Defence SYSTEM ABHRA Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile LeT commander Hafiz Abdul Rauf leads funeral prayers in Muridke, Pakistan | PTI ‘IC-814 hijacking mastermind Rauf Azhar killed’ M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi Abdul Rauf Azhar, Jaish-eMohammed founder Maulana Masood Azhar’s brother and the terror outfit’s operational head, was killed in India’s airstrikes under Operation Sindoor, officials said on Thursday The slain terrorist . was considered the mastermind of the IC-814 hijacking in 1999 and involved in the 2001 Parliament attack. Officials said he was killed in the Indian strikes on the Bahawalpur terror hideout early on Wednesday . Masood Azhar acknowledged that 10 members of his family and four of his close associates were killed in India’s precision air strikes on JeM’s headquarters in Bahawalpur. Those killed included Masood Azhar’s sister and brother-in-law. “Now we have confirmation in Pakistan that Rauf was killed along with 10 of Masood’s family and four associates,” a senior intelligence official said. “Rauf Azhar’s role in orchestrating the IC-814 hijacking directly facilitated the release of Omar Saeed Sheikh, a key Al-Qaeda operative who went on to kidnap and murder Daniel Pearl, an American-Jewish journalist working with the Wall Street Journal,” the official added. ABHRA is a joint development between India’s DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries. It’s a state-of-the-art air defence weapon system, range 70 km, designed to neutralise aerial threats and drones. It is powered by a dual-pulse solid propulsion system AKASH: Mobile surface-to-air missile The Akash missile system can engage targets up to a range of 25 km. It is a short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) designed to protect from air attacks. The Akash system has been showcased for its ability to engage multiple targets simultaneously at this range SPYDER air defence system: A workhorse This air defence system includes the Elta EL/M-2106 ATAR radar, which can control missile firing units up to 10 km. It also includes Python-5 infrared missiles of range up to 12 km and Derby radar-guided missiles up to 50 km