ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan mentioned India fired missiles at three air bases contained in the nation Saturday however many of the missiles had been intercepted and that retaliatory strikes on India had been underway. It’s the newest escalation in a battle triggered by a bloodbath final month that India blames on Pakistan.
The Pakistani army mentioned it used medium-range Fateh missiles to focus on an Indian missile storage facility and airbases in Pathankot and Udhampur.
Military spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, mentioned Pakistan’s air power property had been secure following the Indian strikes, including that among the Indian missiles additionally hit India’s jap Punjab.
“It is a provocation of the very best order,” Sharif mentioned. There was no speedy remark from India.
State-run Pakistan Tv reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has convened a gathering of the Nationwide Command Authority, the physique liable for overseeing the nation’s missile program and different strategic property.
Tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals have soared since an assault at a well-liked vacationer web site in India-controlled Kashmir left 26 civilians useless, largely Hindu Indian vacationers, on April 22. New Delhi has blamed Pakistan for backing the assault, an accusation Islamabad rejects.
The Indian missiles focused Nur Khan air base within the garrison metropolis of Rawalpindi, close to the capital Islamabad, Murid air base in Chakwal metropolis and Rafiqui air base within the Jhang district of jap Punjab province, based on the army spokesman.
There was no media entry to the air base in Rawalpindi, a densely populated metropolis, and no speedy reviews of residents listening to or seeing the strike or its aftermath.
Following the announcement of Pakistani retaliation, residents in Indian-controlled Kashmir mentioned they heard loud explosions at a number of locations within the area, together with the 2 huge cities of Srinagar and Jammu, and the garrison city of Udhampur.
“Explosions that we’re listening to in the present day are totally different from those we heard the final two nights throughout drone assaults,” mentioned Shesh Paul Vaid, the area’s former high police official and Jammu resident. “It seems to be like a struggle right here.”
Vaid mentioned explosions had been heard from areas with army bases, including it appeared that military websites had been being focused.
There was no speedy remark from India’s protection and international ministry and its armed forces.
Srinagar appeared calm early Saturday however some residents in neighborhoods near town’s airport, which can be an air base, mentioned they had been rattled by the explosions and booming sound of fighter jets.
“I used to be already awake however the explosions jolted my children out of their sleep. They began crying,” mentioned Srinagar resident Mohammed Yasin, including he heard no less than two explosions.
In Pakistan, the civil aviation authority mentioned the nation’s airports had been shut for all flight operations.
Individuals in main cities had been seen chanting slogans supporting Pakistan’s armed forces.
“Thank God we now have lastly responded to Indian aggression,” mentioned Muhammad Ashraf, who had headed out for breakfast within the jap metropolis of Lahore.
The Indian military mentioned late Friday that drones had been sighted in 26 places throughout many areas in Indian states bordering Pakistan and Indian-controlled Kashmir, together with Srinagar. It mentioned the drones had been tracked and engaged.
“The state of affairs is below shut and fixed watch, and immediate motion is being taken wherever obligatory,” the assertion added.
India and Pakistan have traded strikes and heavy cross-border fireplace for days, leading to civilian casualties on each side.
The Group of Seven nations, or G7, urged “most restraint” from India and Pakistan. It warned Friday that additional army escalation posed a severe menace to regional stability.
Copyright 2025 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials is probably not printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.