Pakistan targeted the Golden Temple in Amritsar in response to Operation Sindoor destroying terror outfits deep inside its territory, said Major General Kartik C Seshadri, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 15th Infantry Division.

Speaking to ANI, he said, "Knowing that the Pak Army does not have any legitimate targets, we anticipated that they would target Indian military installations, civilian targets including religious places. Of these, Golden Temple appeared to be the most prominent.”

Pakistan unleashed a barrage of drones and long-range missiles in the wee hours of May 8. However, the Indian Army, alert and prepared, intercepted and destroyed each one of those.

"We mobilised additional modern air defence assets to give a holistic air defence umbrella cover to Golden Temple,” Major General Seshadri added.

On Monday, the Indian Army displayed a demonstration of how the air defence systems comprising AKASH missile system and L-70 Air Defence Guns, successfully neutralised incoming Pakistani threats, safeguarding the Golden Temple and other regions of Punjab.

The defence ministry earlier confirmed that multiple Indian cities and military bases, including Amritsar, Jammu, Srinagar, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, and Bhuj, were targeted in the overnight assault. Explosions were also reported across Kashmir.

On the intervening night of May 6–7, India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting nine terror outfits in Pakistan’s Muridke and Bahawalpur. The strike was in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.