On the night of May 7, 2025, Pakistan launched a large-scale, unprovoked drone and missile attack targeting Indian military infrastructure across Northern and Western India, including regions in Jammu, Punjab, and Rajasthan.

In a move sharply condemned by Indian authorities, Pakistan deliberately kept its civil airspace open throughout the offensive, allowing commercial airliners-including international flights-to continue operating along major routes such as Karachi-Lahore, even as military hostilities unfolded below.

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force, during a special briefing on Operation Sindoor, exposed this tactic, stating that Pakistan’s refusal to close its airspace was a calculated attempt to use civilian aircraft as shields.

She emphasised that this action knowingly endangered the lives of unsuspecting passengers and crew aboard these flights, particularly those operating near the India-Pakistan border at a time of heightened military alert. Radar data presented by the IAF confirmed that, while India acted responsibly by clearing its own airspace to protect civilian lives, Pakistani skies remained crowded with commercial traffic, creating a perilous situation for civil aviation.

The Indian Air Force exercised significant restraint in its response to avoid jeopardising civilian airliners in Pakistani airspace, despite the provocations. This restraint was highlighted as a measure to ensure the safety of international civil carriers, even as Indian air defence systems were on high alert and successfully neutralised numerous incoming threats.

In addition to the use of civil airliners as shields, Pakistan’s offensive involved the deployment of 300 to 400 drones-many of them Turkish-made Asisguard Songar models-across 36 locations along the western border, with the intent to infiltrate and target Indian military installations. The Indian armed forces responded by shooting down many of these drones using both kinetic and non-kinetic means, and forensic investigations into the drone wreckage are ongoing. The attacks also included artillery shelling with heavy-calibre guns along the Line of Control, resulting in casualties on both sides.

The Pakistani offensive, including the drone and missile barrage, was seen as an attempted retaliation following India’s Operation Sindoor, a precision strike that targeted and destroyed nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Operation Sindoor itself was a direct response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 Indian civilians.

Indian officials and defence sources have described Pakistan’s use of civilian airspace during active military operations as reckless and a dangerous breach of international aviation norms, highlighting the grave risks posed to global air safety. The situation has escalated tensions along the India-Pakistan border, with both sides maintaining heightened military readiness and vigilance.

Pakistan’s deliberate decision to keep its civil airspace open during a major military offensive has drawn severe criticism from India, which accuses Islamabad of using civilian airliners as human shields to deter Indian retaliation and complicate air defence responses. This tactic, combined with the large-scale use of drones and artillery, marks a significant and hazardous escalation in the ongoing conflict between the two nations.

ANI