The Indian Air Force (IA) began attacking Pakistan’s non-military installations in 1965 as a result of a string of increasingly intense clashes. The targets included hospitals and district courts in Sialkot, as well as civilian communities in Wazirabad, Chiniot, and Sargodha.
Indian forces described the strikes as acts of desperation.
The Pakistan Army retaliated by mounting a valiant defense that forced Indian forces out of the Sialkot and Lahore areas.
In Sialkot, Pakistani forces destroyed 21 Indian tanks during the counteroffensive and took control of a sizable quantity of Indian military hardware. Locals came out of their houses in large numbers to support the Pakistani troops.
Significant losses were sustained by the Indian Army, including the devastation of a three-mile section of the Srinagar–Kargil route.
