New Delhi, May 10: Pakistan on Saturday shut down its airspace temporarily, hours after India accused the former of using commercial flights as shields amid drone attacks.

The decision, notified through a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), came amid escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The move follows a night of intense drone activity along India’s northern and western borders after Pakistani drones were sighted at 26 locations ranging from Baramulla in the North to Bhuj in the South, along both the International Border and the Line of Control with Pakistan, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

These include suspected armed drones posing potential threats to civilian and military targets, the Ministry added.

The locations include Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Nagrota, Jammu, Ferozpur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala.

Several of the targeted sites included key airfields, forward military bases, and civil aviation facilities. India successfully repelled each attack.

India accused Pakistan of endangering international air traffic by keeping its airspace open while executing drone and missile operations.

“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,” Colonel Sofiya Qureshi of the Army said at a press briefing on Friday, alongside Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Pakistan deployed between 300 and 400 drones, identified preliminarily as Turkish-made Asisguard Songar models, on the night of May 8 and May 9. Many were intercepted using a combination of kinetic and electronic warfare systems, including the Barak-8 and S-400 Triumph missile defence platforms, Akash SAMs, and indigenous anti-drone technologies.

“The sheer scale suggests it was a deliberate military attempt to test our readiness. We responded proportionately,” Wing Commander Singh said at the briefing.

Among the locations targeted were Srinagar airport, the Awantipora airbase, Nagrota, Jammu, Pathankot, Fazilka, and Jaisalmer.

In Ferozpur, a drone attack on a civilian area injured three members of a local family. No Indian military installations were damaged.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a high-level security review meeting late Friday night with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and the service chiefs.

Earlier on Friday, PM Modi also met former Chiefs of the armed forces to take their views on the evolving crisis.

Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the civil preparedness in states along the Pakistan border, particularly around airports and high-value targets.

Chandigarh, May 10: The highly revered Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak Dev, in Pakistan’s Punjab province is safe, the Indian government said.

A video shared on social media is claiming that India has carried out a drone attack on Nankana Sahib Gurdwara.

However, the Press Information Bureau’s (PIB’s) Fact Check on Saturday said the claim is completely fake.

“Such content is created to spread communal hatred. Please be cautious. Do not forward such videos,” it added.

Earlier on Friday, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, during a special briefing on Operation Sindoor in the national capital, said India did not target Nankana Sahib Gurdwara through drone attack, dismissing false claims made by Pakistan.

From the Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar to Nankana Sahib, the distance is 104 km.

There are many gurdwaras, including Kartarpur Sahib, Panja Sahib and Nankana Sahib, in Pakistan.

Gurdwara Nankana Sahib is the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev and holds great importance for Sikhs and Hindus around the world.

It is there that Guru Nanak used to play with his childhood friends in an open field.

Meanwhile, on the direction of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Harjinder Singh Dhami, SGPC officials on Friday visited Sikhs who were injured in a Pakistani attack in Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir and met them in the hospital.

They assured all possible assistance on behalf of the Sikh body.

SGPC Secretary Partap Singh and Sri Darbar Sahib Manager Rajinder Singh Ruby expressed their sympathy after meeting Gurmeet Singh and his son Rajvansh Singh, who are undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Amritsar.

SGPC Secretary Partap Singh said amid the tense situation in the country, the victims were travelling from Poonch to Jammu when their vehicle convoy was attacked.

As a result, one Sikh lost his life while Gurmeet Singh, his son Rajvansh Singh, and other family members sustained serious injuries.

Gurmeet Singh and Rajvansh Singh were admitted to a private hospital in Amritsar, where they are currently receiving medical care.

Secretary Partap Singh said the SGPC considers it a duty to stand with humanity in times of distress and is completely fulfilling its responsibility even under the current circumstances.

He added that under the instructions of SGPC President Dhami, special arrangements for shelter and meals have been made at nearby gurdwaras for people displaced from border areas.

Additionally, sacred saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib are also being safely relocated from evacuated village gurdwaras.

He appealed to residents of border areas to contact their nearest historic gurdwaras under the SGPC management, if they require assistance.

Bengaluru, May 9: A ‘Jai Hind Yatra’ was held by the Karnataka unit of the Congress party on Friday in Bengaluru in support of the Indian security forces which are carrying out ‘Operation Sindoor’ in retaliation to the Pahalgam massacre in which 26 people were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists. Congress leaders said that “irrespective of Pakistan’s misadventures, India is strong and we will face the enemy.”

The ‘Jai Hind Yatra’ by the Congress took place from K.R. Circle to Minsk Square in Bengaluru, under the leadership of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

Ministers H.K. Patil, G. Parameshwara, K.H. Muniyappa, H.C. Mahadevappa, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Priyank Kharge, Dr. M.C. Sudhakar, Bose Raju, and Chief Whip of the Legislative Council Saleem Ahmed, along with MLA Rizwan Arshad and others participated in the march.

Government and private sector officials, employees, representatives of various organisations, and thousands of students also took part in the rally.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the ‘Jai Hind Yatra’, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President, D.K. Shivakumar, stated that the Tiranga yatra programme was organised by the state government to condemn the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and also to support Indian armed forces which are carrying out ‘Operation Sindoor’.

“We want to send a big message to the whole nation through this Tiranga yatra. At this juncture, whole world is looking at India. We are highlighting that everyone should stand united at this stage and also we are giving moral courage to Indian soldiers,” Dy CM Shivakumar stated.

“Jai Hind Tiranga Yatra has been organised in Karnataka. We have invited all sections of society including students, the government employees, organisations, institutions irrespective of their background. We want to salute our armed forces. The integrity of the country is important. We have decided to do this by taking out this march today,” he stated.

“I am very happy that all sections of the society including retired armed forces soldiers, students and other political parties are participating. Let’s toe together for the country’s pride. Irrespective of Pakistan’s misadventures, India is strong and we will face the enemy,” he stated.

“We should extend support to Indian soldiers who are fighting for our country,” he underlined.