Pakistan has launched missile strikes on India in a dramatic escalation of hostilities between the two nuclear-armed rivals, with both sides trading blame over attacks on military targets and civilian casualties.
Powerful explosions were reported at several Pakistani air bases early on Saturday morning, with Islamabad accusing India of launching the initial strikes. In response, Pakistan said it had carried out “precision” attacks on Indian military sites, including a nuclear storage facility.
Senator Sherry Rehman said the strikes were in retaliation for “unprovoked” attacks on Pakistani civilians. “Indian targets were hit with precision,” she said.
Pakistan’s prime minister has called an emergency meeting of the country’s civil-military body that oversees nuclear weapons policy, raising fears that the conflict could spiral even further.
A senior Indian official was among the reported casualties in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan also claimed to have successfully disabled large parts of India’s power grid, though this has not been confirmed.
India said its earlier strikes were in response to a deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Kashmir last month, which it blames on Pakistani-backed militants. Pakistan denies any involvement in the attack.
Speaking to Geo News, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said: “There is a threshold which we cannot go beyond, especially when it comes to hypocrisy and double standards.
“The action that the Pakistan civil-military leadership has taken is proportionate. Many more actions can be taken, and we are ready for that, but this is minimum action being taken just now which will be continued for a while.”
He added: “Our patience has been tested and has run out, and the actions that have been taken are retaliatory and defensive. The world can see that.”
India, meanwhile, reported shooting down several armed drones launched from Pakistan in the early hours of Saturday over the city of Amritsar in Punjab.
The Indian Army said its air defence systems destroyed the drones as they approached Khasa Cantonment. “Pakistan’s blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions continues along our western borders,” it said in a statement.
Footage released by the army showed one of the drones being intercepted in mid-air. “Indian Army will thwart enemy designs,” the statement added.
