How India foiled Pakistan's plan to target the Golden Temple in Amritsar

A meticulously planned and large-scale attack by Pakistan on the revered Golden Temple in Amritsar was thwarted by Indian armed forces.

The incident, which formed part of a wider conflict involving artillery, drones and missile assaults across border regions, has now come to light following an official demonstration and multiple statements from top military and government officials.

India’s successful interception of the threat was the result of high preparedness, precise intelligence, and the effective deployment of its modern air defence systems.

The thwarted assault by Pakistan involved both direct military aggression and strategic psychological tactics, including the targeting of religious institutions across regions with the intent to incite communal discord.

Why Pakistan targeted Golden Temple

As tensions rose across the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border in early May, Indian intelligence agencies picked up indications that Pakistani forces, lacking legitimate military targets, were preparing to strike religious and civilian sites in India.

One of the most prominent targets identified in these intelligence inputs was the Golden Temple in Amritsar, one of the holiest shrines in Sikhism.

Major General Kartik C Seshadri, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 15 Infantry Division, confirmed that Pakistan intended to inflict symbolic and psychological damage by launching attacks on high-profile civilian and religious sites.

“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, the Golden Temple appeared to be the most prominent. We mobilised additional modern air defence assets to give a holistic air defence umbrella cover to Golden Temple,” he told ANI.

In the early hours of May 8, Pakistan executed an aerial offensive using long-range missiles and drone platforms . According to Seshadri, this “massive air assault” occurred “in the hours of darkness” and was aimed squarely at civilian populations and sensitive locations, with the Golden Temple at the top of the target list.

“We were fully prepared since we had anticipated this, and our braveheart and alert army air defence gunners thwarted Pakistan Army’s nefarious designs and shot down all drones and missiles targeted at the Golden Temple. Thus, not allowing even a scratch to come on our holy Golden Temple,” he said.

How the Golden Temple attack was foiled

Following the failed assault, the Indian Army conducted a detailed demonstration to showcase how its air defence systems neutralised the aerial threats.

Systems such as the indigenous AKASH missile platform and the L-70 Air Defence Guns played central roles in intercepting incoming drones and missile systems over Amritsar and other areas in Punjab.

The demonstration showed the capacity of these systems to detect, track and engage aerial targets with high accuracy under operational conditions. The coordinated response not only protected the Golden Temple but also shielded other parts of Punjab from destruction.

Indian Air defence forces successfully destroyed all hostile projectiles before they could inflict any physical damage.

How Pakistan targeted religious sites

While India’s strikes focused solely on militant infrastructure, Pakistan appears to have adopted a radically different approach. During a press briefing, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri revealed that Pakistani forces engaged in shelling and missile attacks on religious sites across India, intending to provoke communal violence and sway international perception.

“We have seen Pakistan targeting and shelling places of worship with a particular design. This includes gurdwaras, convents and temples. This is a new low even for Pakistan,” Misri stated.

He warned that Pakistan was “trying desperately to impart a communal hue to the situation with an intention to create discord,” but noted that India’s societal unity remained strong and unshaken.

On the same day as the attempted Golden Temple strike, a Pakistani shell hit a gurdwara in Poonch district, Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the deaths of three Sikh civilians . This attack was part of a broader artillery and mortar barrage across the LoC, which claimed the lives of at least 13 civilians and injured 59 others. Among the deceased were four children.

Further attacks included shelling near the Christ School in Poonch, where two students were killed and their parents injured, and damage to a convent belonging to the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate.

“A Pakistani shell hit near the Christ School in Poonch, killing two students and injuring their parents. A separate shell damaged infrastructure at a convent belonging to the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate,” Misri said.

Misri also dismissed Pakistani media claims that India had attacked religious sites such as the Bilal Mosque in Muzaffarabad. “Disinformation is coming from Pakistan of India targeting the Nankana Sahib Gurudwara through a drone attack. This is again a lie and a part of Pakistan’s disinformation campaign,” he said, reiterating that Operation Sindoor was restricted to known terror bases and excluded any non-combatant infrastructure.

Seshadri also noted that the Indian response was not just reactive but deeply calculated. From pre-positioning assets to precision retaliation, India’s defence strategy focused on neutralising immediate threats while maintaining a clear distinction between terrorist and civilian targets — something Pakistan failed to observe.

India’s retaliation was triggered by a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir , in which both domestic and foreign tourists were targeted. The attack, widely believed to be orchestrated and supported by Pakistan’s military establishment, led to the deaths of 26 civilians.

According to Seshadri, the Indian government responded with a series of precise military operations targeting terrorist infrastructure within Pakistan’s borders.

“Consequent to the Pak Army-sponsored dastardly terrorist attack on innocent tourists, both domestic and international, the nation’s anger under able leadership took the form of Operation Sindoor, wherein befitting punitive strikes were carried out on exclusive terror targets. Nine targets were hit. Of the nine targets, seven were exclusively destroyed by the Indian Army,” he explained.

The Indian Army struck key locations associated with terror organisations. “Of these (nine) targets, Muridke, which is in proximity to Lahore, houses the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba headquarters and also the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) headquarters at Bahawalpur, which were struck with absolute precision. Soon after the strikes, we issued a statement clarifying that we intentionally did not target any Pakistani military or civilian infrastructure,” Seshadri said.

Also Watch:

With inputs from agencies