Ananthapuram (Andhra Pradesh) [India], May 9 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu paid tribute to army jawan Murali Naik, who was killed in the line of duty during cross-border firing by the Pakistani forces along the Line of Control (LoC).
According to an official release from the TDP, Chandrababu Naidu condoled the demise of the young soldier from Ananthapuram district.
Naidu spoke with Murali's parents, Jyotibai and Ram Naik, and assured them of the state government's support.
He praised Murali's invaluable service in the army over the past two years and called on everyone to stand united with patriotism and vigilance.
CM Naidu also urged everybody to observe two minutes of silence in honour of Murali Naik's sacrifice.
As per reports, Agniveer M Murali Naik was injured during heavy shelling from Pakistan side on Thursday. He was later taken to hospital for treatment but succumbed to injuries on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, in a major escalation along India's western front, the Pakistani army carried out multiple airspace violations and drone intrusions on the night of May 7 and 8, targeting Indian military infrastructure.
Addressing a press briefing on Friday, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi revealed that 300 to 400 drones were deployed across 36 locations, with several being shot down by Indian forces using both kinetic and non-kinetic methods. Initial investigations suggest the drones were Turkish-made Asisguard Songar models.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi said during the press briefing, "On the night of May 7 and 8, the Pakistani army violated Indian airspace several times over the entire western border to target military infrastructure. Not only this, the Pakistani army also fired heavy-calibre weapons along the Line of Control. Around 300 to 400 drones were used to attempt infiltration at 36 locations."
She added, "The Indian armed forces shot down many of these drones using kinetic and non-kinetic means. The possible purpose of such large-scale aerial intrusions was to test air defence systems and collect intelligence. Forensic investigation of the wreckage of the drones is being done. Initial reports suggest that they are Turkish Asisguard Songar drones..."
During the press briefing, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh said, "Pakistan did not close its civil airspace despite it launching a failed unprovoked drone and missile attack on May 7 at 08:30 pm. Pakistan is using a civil airliner as a shield, knowing fully well that its attack on India would elicit a swift air defence response. This is unsafe for unsuspecting civil airliners, including international flights that fly near IB between India and Pakistan. The screenshot we just showed shows the data of the application FlightRadar24 during a high air defence alert situation in the Punjab sector."
Escalating its tensions with India, Pakistan targeted Jammu using Hamas-style missiles to target multiple areas on Thursday, defence sources had told ANI.
The sources said the attack resembled a Hamas-style operation in Israel, where multiple cheap rockets were used to target cities.
Pakistan's attempted retaliation came in the wake of India's Operation Sindoor, where the Indian armed forces targeted nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday.
The operation was a direct response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.Earlier on Thursday, the Indian Army had shot down more than 50 Pakistani drones during a large-scale counter-drone operation along the LoC and International Borders (IB), sources told ANI.
The Indian Armed Forces also successfully neutralised Pakistan military's attempts at a large-scale drone and missile attack on multiple Indian military installations across Northern and Western India during the night of May 7-8, and an Air Defence system at Lahore was neutralised.