It was “new low even for Pakistan” as it targeted places of worship and sent 300 to 400 drones in 36 locations attacking Indian military installations on Thursday. The failed attempt spanned from Leh to Sir Creek and sending of drones was violation of Indian airspace, Government said here on Friday.

Making these assertions here, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said targeting places of worship was with a particular design.  He also said Pakistan’s farcical denial of its attempts to target installations in India is another example of its duplicity. Addressing the media, he said Pakistan’s attack on places of worship and its “preposterous” attempts to put the blame on Indian armed forces is reflective of Islamabad’s evil design and efforts to deceive and mislead the world.

Citing Pakistan’s attack on a gurdwara in Amritsar and its subsequent attempt to blame it on Indian armed forces, Misri said Islamabad’s thinking that India would attack its own cities is the kind of “deranged fantasy” that only the Pakistani state can come up with.

The foreign secretary blasted Pakistan’s provocative and escalatory actions to try and target Indian cities and civilian infrastructure using drones on Thursday night.

Misri especially hit out at Pakistan for its “blatantly farcical denial” of these attacks saying it is yet another example of Islamabad’s duplicity and the “new depths” that it is plumbing to in its “quest for disinformation”. Misri was severely critical of Pakistan for targeting religious places with an aim to give a communal colour to the current situation, and pointed to an incident of Pakistan attacking a gurdwara in Poonch and another religious place in Amritsar. “Instead of owning up to these attacks, Pakistan made the preposterous and outrageous claim that it was the Indian armed forces and the Indian Air Force that was targeting cities like Amritsar and trying to put the blame on Pakistan,” he said.

“This is nothing but a desperate attempt by Pakistan to disown its acts of aggression; but it is also true to its efforts to deceive and mislead the world. It will not succeed,” Misri said. He said that “we would attack our own cities” is the kind of deranged fantasy that only the Pakistani state can come up with. Perhaps they do it because they are well versed in such action as their history would show, he said.

Misri described it as a “blatant lie” Pakistan’s allegations of India targeting the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara using a drone.  “This is again yet another blatant lie and part of Pakistan’s disinformation campaign. As we saw in the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan is again trying desperately to impart a communal hue to the situation with an intention to create discord,” he said. “Again, we are not surprised. India’s steadfast unity in itself is a challenge to Pakistan,” he said. Misri said in view of the existing security scenario, the Kartarpur Sahib corridor has been suspended.

On India’s strikes on Bahawalpur’s Markaz Subhan Allah - the nerve centre of Jaish-e-Mohammed linked to the killing of Daniel Pearl, a journalist with The Wall Street Journal, Misri said the terror outfit was “directly or indirectly” responsible for his death. “Bahawalpur is the headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group that is proscribed by the UN. Its leader Masood Azhar, is a proscribed individual,” he said, responding to a question. “You brought up the connection with the tragic death or killing of Daniel Pearl of the Wall Street Journal.

The JeM was in some way directly or indirectly responsible for the death of Daniel Pearl,” he said. “But the real connection is through Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the British Pakistani jihadi who was held in India but was finally released in 2000 and he was the person who lured Daniel Pearl to his...Murder,” Misri said.

Addressing the media at the press briefing, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said Pakistan conducted an unprovoked aerial assault on May 7 at approximately 8.30pm.

Despite the aggression, Pakistan chose not to close its civilian airspace, a move India said was a deliberate tactic to use commercial flights as shields against a potential counterstrike.

“Pakistan did not close its civil airspace despite launching a failed, unprovoked drone and missile attack on Indian cities,” said Wing Commander Singh. “They are using civil airliners as a shield, knowing fully well that their actions would elicit a swift air defence response from India.”

Singh highlighted the dangers posed to both domestic and international flights operating in the vicinity of the International Border (IB) during the high-alert situation, particularly in the Punjab sector.

During the briefing, the Indian Air Force (IAF) displayed radar data showing active civil aviation traffic over Pakistan, contrasting with India’s immediate and complete closure of its own airspace in the affected regions.

On the drone attacks by Pakistan on Thursday night, she said “Our armed forces shot down many of these drones using both kinetic and non-kinetic means. One armed unmanned aerial vehicle was sent to strike the Bhatinda military station, but the attempt was foiled.” She added that in retaliation, India deployed armed drones against four Pakistani air defence sites, successfully destroying one radar system.

The Government confirmed that Pakistani drones and missiles violated Indian airspace during the intervening night of May 8 and 9. In response, India activated its air defence network, including S-400 Triumph systems, Barak-8 and Akash missiles, and DRDO’s anti-drone technologies, to neutralise the threats, it was learnt.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, meanwhile, on Friday carried out a comprehensive review of the national security scenario with the top military leadership, a day after Pakistan’s attempts to target Indian military installations were repelled. Every aspect of the evolving security situation was discussed in the meeting, it is learnt.

The meeting was attended by Chief of Defence Staff(CDS)General Anil Chauhan, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.

Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the prevailing situation along India’s border with Pakistan and airports in the country amid the military conflict between the two countries, sources said.

The meeting came hours after the Border Security Force said it has foiled an infiltration bid from across the International Border in Jammu, killing at least seven terrorists and destroying a Pakistan Rangers post.

Apart from reviewing the security situation along the India-Pakistan border, Shah also took stock of the steps taken to strengthen security at airports across the country, the sources said.

Those who attended the meeting included Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka, Directors General of the BSF, CISF and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.